Bad Weather
by gladrags2012
Summary: The weather has gone weird. To make things worse someone is hacking into control systems across the country. Is this just bad luck or are there more sinister forces at work ? Rated T for safety.
1. Chapter 1

**The weather has gone weird. Is it a natural phenomenon or is something more sinister at work. Who you gonna call ? I don't own any of the characters from MI High. I am reusing a character from 'Spy Game' called Nate. He's mine. The story is mine.**

Aneisha walked into the baking school yard, loosening her tie as she went. Her mother had insisted she bring her school blazer with her despite the heat. It had to be over 30 degrees centigrade. Surely they wouldn't be making them work in this heat ! She spotted her friends across the yard.

"Hey Aneisha," said Zoe. "It's hot isn't it ?"

"Yes, it's the hottest September day since records began !" said Tom excitedly. "This is really unusual weather."

"So when did records begin ?" asked Dan, sounding cynical. "Last September ?"

"No, it's at least, erm, well, not sure really," admitted Tom. "But you've got to admit, it's really hot !"

"I am happy to admit it is really, really hot," agreed Dan. "Let's go to the lockers. I want to get rid of this blazer. I'm not carrying it around all day. I don't care what the uniform policy is." The team walked to the their lockers and got rid of blazers, jumpers and anything else they couldn't be bothered to carry. The bell rang for registration.

Everyone filed into the classroom. Shirts were hanging out, ties were slung down from collars and everyone was already looking sweaty. It was only the start of the day. "Right everyone. What a shower you all look today !" said Mr. McNab marching into the classroom. "Morgan ! Do up that tie. The same goes for you Jones, and the rest of you. Come on !" ordered Mr. McNab. Everyone groaned but did as they were told.

"Just because it's hot doesn't mean we're going to let standards slide," complained Mr. McNab. He was still wearing jacket and tie as usual. Aneisha wondered if the guy ever took the jacket off. Maybe he never ironed his shirts. Or, maybe Mrs. McNab … Aniesha stopped here. She couldn't imagine a Mrs. McNab. Could such a person even exist ? Her daydream was interrupted by Mr. McNab taking the register.

Frank was changing some lightbulbs in one of the art classes when he got a call from Mr. Flatley. "Ah Frank, glad I managed to get hold of you. I don't know if you've noticed, but the heating appears to be on. I assumed that with the current temperatures, the thermostat would have turned it off. Could you look into it please ?" asked Mr. Flatley.

"Sure thing Mr. F." replied Frank. "I'll get right on to it." Putting his ladder away he headed for the boiler room where the heating controls were located. Since the head teacher had mentioned it, he had to admit the building was pretty warm. He touched a couple of radiators and they were burning hot. The system must have gone haywire.

In the boiler room Frank opened up the heating control system. It appeared to be in order. The thermostat was set to the correct temperature. He went out into an empty classroom which had a thermometer on the wall to read the temperature. That was odd. The thermometer reading was at about 32 degrees Celsius. The heating was set to come on at 16 degrees Celsius. It should have turned off.

Frank returned to the boiler room and lowered the thermostat. This made no difference. He then attempted to turn off the boiler. The boiler wouldn't turn off. Giving up he went to the office and asked the staff to report a fault with the boiler to the boiler company. The staff in the office were mopping their foreheads and opening windows. "Oh, Mr. London, it's a shame you can't fix it," said one of the secretaries. "I'll let you know what the company says," she promised.

Frank's phone rang a little later. It was the secretary. "Mr. London, the strangest thing. The boiler company say they're inundated with calls from people saying their boilers won't go off. They think their control system may have got some sort of virus apparently. They said whatever you do, don't cut off the gas supply to the boiler," she said. "Apparently one other school tried cutting off the gas supply and the boiler exploded."

"Oh, I don't like the sound of that. I'll try cutting the power," promised Frank. Mopping his forehead he returned to the boiler room and hunted for the power switch. He found the switch but when he flicked it off, nothing happened. This was crazy ! Frank went to the headmaster's office and told Mr. Flatley what had happened.

By mid afternoon temperatures in the school were soaring around 39 degrees Celcius. Dan, Tom, Aneisha and Zoe were sitting sweltering in a maths class. Dan rubbed sweat off his face with the back of his hand. For a second his vision blurred. Hearing a thump, he turned to see that Melissa had fainted and fallen off her chair. "Stay where you are everyone !" ordered Mr. McNab walking up to her. "Zoe, would you please fetch the first aider from the office please ?" asked Mr. McNab. Zoe left the room to do as he'd asked. "All right everyone. Take a break," said Mr. McNab. His face was bright red and he was clearly uncomfortable. Roly laid his head down on the desk. The usual banter which would have broken out at this point, didn't start. Everyone was too hot.

Zoe returned with Frank. "I'm afraid there's kids fainting all over the school Mr. McNab," said Frank. He knelt beside Melissa who was coming round and took her pulse. "It's just the heat Melissa," said Frank gently. "Take it easy for a minute and you'll feel better," he promised. "She should go home," Frank said to Mr. McNab.

Mr. McNab nodded. "I think we all should. Nobody can learn let alone teach in this environment," he complained. "Any news on the boiler ?" he asked.

Frank shook his head, looking frustrated. "I don't know what's happened to it, but it's out of control and I can't even turn it off," he complained.

"Would you stay with the class for a minute ?" asked Mr. McNab. "I'm going to ask the headmaster to close the school for the rest of the day. We can't go on like this." He left the room.

"What's it like downstairs ?" Tom asked Frank.

"Worse," said Frank.

Mr. McNab returned with news that the school was officially closed for the rest of the day. They should collect their things and go home. Anyone who had to wait for transport should wait in the school yard somewhere shady.

The corridors filled with students collecting their things and leaving. Normally you would have expected some celebration, but nobody had the energy. Frank passed the agents as they were walking out. "Do you need us for anything Frank ?" asked Tom.

"No, it's all right," said Frank. "No emergencies at the moment thank goodness. The basement is unbearable at the moment," he added. "Our temperature control has gone haywire too."

"What's causing it ?" asked Tom.

"The boiler company think they've got some virus in their control system," said Frank.

"I suppose you could get one into the PLC," said Tom. The other looked at him.

"And in English ?" asked Aneisha.

"Programmable Logic Controller," explained Tom, as if this was all they needed to know. "It's a sort of miniature computer chip in the machine," he explained. This seemed to work. The frowns disappeared from their faces. "There's a theory that the whole power grid could be paralysed by some sort of cyber-attack in this way," he said enthusiastically.

"Do you think it could be a cyber-attack ?" asked Frank.

"Hard to tell," said Tom. "Do you want me to look into it ?" he asked.

"Yes, if you can get access to the boiler controller," said Frank.

"No probs," said Tom. "I'll have a look at it when I get home."

The four agents left the school together. It was a relief to get outside even though it wasn't much cooler. As they crossed the school yard, the temperature started to fall. "Aw, relief !" said Dan, revelling in the shade which was falling.

"What's that ?" asked Aneisha, pointing up at the sky. They all looked up. A huge, thick black cloud was gathering over the town. Jagged streaks of lightning were shooting through it. The sky was going black and the light was fading rapidly.


	2. Chapter 2

**The weather has gone weird. Is it a natural phenomenon or is something more sinister at work. Out of the frying pan and into the freezer.**

"_What's that ?" asked Aneisha, pointing up at the sky. They all looked up. A huge, thick black cloud was gathering over the town. Jagged streaks of lightning were shooting through it. The sky was going black and the light was fading rapidly. _

"That is weird !" muttered Dan. By now a whole schoolyard full of students was staring up at the darkening sky.

"Ow !" someone said. "Who did that ?"

The teens all looked around. A rattling sound could be heard. Something was bouncing off the roof of the school. Suddenly hail stones started thundering down on them. There were screams and shouts as people started running in all directions. The hail stones ranged in size from peas to golf balls. "Get inside quick !" shouted Dan. Everyone ran, putting their school bags over their heads for protection. A particularly large hail stone glanced off his forehead. "Aagh !" he shouted as he dashed for the school door with the others. That had really hurt.

"What is going on here ?" shouted Mr. McNab, forcing his way through the crowds of frightened students. "I thought you were told to go home !" he shouted. "What happened to you ?" he asked Dan, stopping suddenly.

"There are huge hail stones Sir," said Dan, pointing out through the doors. Mr. McNab opened a door to look outside and dodged back inside to avoid the hail hammering down on the doorstep, quickly closing the door again. "All right everyone, remain in here until the storm ends !" he called out. "Please keep to one side of the corridor, or go and sit in your registration class," he ordered. "Daniel Morgan, go and see a first aider," he instructed Dan, before walking off.

"Huh ?" said Dan, looking at the others.

"Dan, you've got blood running down your face," said Aneisha, wincing. "You must have been hit by the most humungous hail stone !" she added. Dan touched the side of his face and his hand came away bloody. "Come on. We may as well find Frank," she said.

The four trooped off in search of Frank. Tom lent Dan his handkerchief to hold over the cut on his head. Tom called Frank on his phone. He told them to come down to their base.

Frank had the first aid kit out ready. Dan sat down while Frank cleaned his cut and put on a plaster. "There ! How big are these hail stones ?" asked Frank.

"About this big," said Tom, holding his thumb and forefinger apart. "I thought you said it was hot down here," he commented.

"Yes, it was. The temperature started dropping a few minutes ago," said Frank, absent-mindedly putting the first aid kit away.

Aneisha shivered. "Feels pretty cold now," she said.

"That's odd," said Frank, checking the thermometer. "You're right. The temperature is dropping rapidly," he said, looking puzzled. "What on earth is going on ?" He checked the outside cameras. "It's still hailing heavily," he said. Some cars parked in the staff car park had holes in their windscreens where they had been smashed by the hail.

Tom sat at a computer looking through what looked to Dan like gobbledegook. "The boiler is set in some kind of loop. Oh, wait. It's changing. The boiler is off Frank," reported Tom. "I'll have a look at the base's temperature control system." Further screens of code scrolled up Tom's screen. "Hm. That looks like it's stuck in some kind of control loop too," he reported. "Someone has definitely hacked into these Frank," he reported. "Someone is trying to upset all the heating control systems."

"Why ?" asked Aneisha. "Who would care ?" Tom shrugged.

Frank looked baffled. "Well, it's stopped hailing now," he reported looking at the CCTV. "You may as well go home while you can." They all got up and left.

As they all went their different ways, Tom and Dan walked side by side for a while up the part of the route they shared. It was now cold and they were both wearing their school blazers. "I wonder what's making the weather go so weird ?" wondered Dan.

"You can get freak hail storms in hot spells," said Tom. "Never been in one though. That was pretty amazing !"

Dan felt the bruise coming up on his head and looked a lot less pleased. "Yeah, wonderful !" he said sarcastically. "It feels like someone is throwing weather at us. Oh, now what ?" he said in disbelief. "That's, that's snow !" he said.

"Wow. It is too !" said Tom in amazement. Heavy flakes of snow were starting to fall all around them. "Ha, this is crazy !" he said in delight. At the end of the road the two boys split up and went in different directions.

It was freezing and Dan pulled up his blazer collar and wrapped his arms around himself to try to keep warm. He could see his breath in front of his face. This was ridiculous. It was like summer and winter in one day ! By the time he got home he was shivering and struggled to get his key to turn in the door lock. "Is that you Dan ?" called out his Mum's voice.

"Y y yeah," he replied. He took off his shoes and hung up his blazer to dry before joining his Mum in the kitchen.

"Oh dear ! You look frozen !" said his Mum. "Have a cup of tea to warm you up love," she said, putting the kettle on. Dan sat in front of the warmth of the oven. Gradually the shivering subsided. "What happened to your head ?" asked his Mum. She had become used to his many cuts and bruises which were usually unexplained.

"I got hit by a hail stone," he said. "It was huge !"

"Are you feeling all right ?" she asked him, concerned.

"Oh yes. It's just a bruise that's all," he said, hugging the hot drink in his hands.

"How strange ! It was really hot this morning ! Are you going to be looking into it ?" she asked, glancing sideways at him.

"Well, we don't know if it's anything like that," said Dan obliquely. He knew that his parents knew roughly what he did. They never talked about it directly though. They more or less pretended they didn't know. Normally they never spoke about it, unless he came home injured. "Tom's having a look into some stuff," he said. "I expect I'll hear if there's anything odd," he added.

His Mum smiled at him. "Well you might as well go and get changed into something warmer," she said. "Dinner's at the usual time," she added. Dan suddenly felt a surge of gratitude to his Mum. He stood and gave her a kiss on the cheek before going up to change. "Well, to what do I owe the honour ?" she asked, but the smile on her face showed her pleasure.

Aneisha let herself into her house. She lived in a very grand contemporary house which her parents had had designed by an architect. It didn't seem much warmer inside than out. As usual, there was nobody home, as both her parents worked in high power jobs. In the kitchen she found a note pinned to the fridge. "In London tonight darling. Bolognese in fridge," it read. Aneisha sighed. She loved her parents of course, but she often wished they were around a bit more. She went to her room and changed her clothes. Her wardrobe was filled with designer clothes and her room was decorated with the best of everything. It still felt a bit empty though. She called Zoe on her mobile. "Hey Zo, how's things ?" she asked. She could hear shouts and yells in the background. Zoe lived in an MI9 orphanage. There were always loads of kids around.

"Fine," said Zoe. "You on your own ?" she asked. Zoe always managed to work out what was on Aneisha's mind.

"Yes, my parents are away again," she said. "Are you able to come round ?" she asked.

"No, MI9 have put a curfew on all the safe houses," explained Zoe. "It's because of all the weirdness," she added. "They don't want us out."

"Oh, OK. Well, have a good evening," said Aneisha, trying not to sound disappointed. She called Tom on his mobile. "Hey Tom. How's the investigation going ?" she asked.

"Slowly," said Tom, sounding frustrated. "Are your Mum and Dad away ?" he asked.

"Am I totally obvious or something ?" demanded Aneisha, sounding annoyed.

Tom laughed. "You often ring up when they've gone out. Why don't you ask Zoe round ?" he asked. "She'll probably enjoy a break from the orphanage."

"MI9 have put a curfew on all the safe houses," Aneisha explained to him. "She can't come out."

"Oh, sorry," said Tom. "I've worked out how all these systems have been interfered with, but it's going to take a lot of work to fix them all," he said.

"What about the weather ?" asked Aneisha.

"Oh, now that's way out of my scope !" said Tom. "I have no idea what is going on there. We'll have to wait to see what Frank and MI9 come up with on that one. Sorry," he added. He sounded like he'd let her down.

"Hey, brainbox. I don't expect you to know everything !" said Aneisha jokingly. "Well, actually I usually do. But on this occasion I'll let you off," she said, laughing. Tom laughed and they hung up. Tom usually made her smile. Looking across her empty room, she finally rang Dan.

"Hey, Neish. Things must be serious !" said Dan.

"Why ?" asked Aneisha, puzzled.

"You never ring me unless you're really desperate !" joked Dan. Aneisha grinned.

"Busted !" she admitted. "My parents have gone away for the night. I was just checking on everybody," she explained.

"Oh, bad luck," said Dan. "I'm just trying to get through this French homework," he said. Aneisha could picture him scratching the back of his head as he said this.

"Bon Chance !" Aneisha said.

"What ? Oh yeah, right," said Dan. "You OK ?" he asked.

"Mm ? Yes, I'm fine. Just a bit, you know," she said.

"Lonely ?" he asked her quietly.

"Yeah, a bit," she admitted.

"Well, why don't you go on Facebook or email or something ? There might be some virtual friends to talk to," suggested Dan. Aniesha heard a voice shouting in the background. "Oh, that's my Mum. Dinner," explained Dan. "Call me later if you're still fed up," he said kindly. Aneisha smiled at him in gratitude, despite the fact that he wasn't actually there.

"Thanks Dan. I'll see you tomorrow," she said. They closed the call and Aneisha went downstairs to heat up her ready-made bolognese.

"Who was on the phone ?" Dan's Mum asked him.

"Oh it was Aneisha," said Dan. "Her Mum and Dad have gone out and she's on her own again," he explained, sitting down at the table.

"Poor dear," said his Mum sympathetically. "You can ask her round to dinner in future if you like. Dad could give her a lift home afterwards."

"Mmm hm," agreed his Dad, with his mouth full of dinner.


	3. Chapter 3

**The weather has gone weird. Is it a natural phenomenon or is something more sinister at work ? More weather.**

The next morning Tom wondered what to wear to school. This wasn't normally a difficult decision, but there was no knowing what the weather was going to be like. "What's the forecast Mum ?" he asked in the kitchen.

"50% chance of rain, 50% chance of sunshine and 50% chance of wind," said his mother.

"Wait, that's not right," complained Tom. "You can't have three times 50%. That's more than 100% !"

"I think it's their way of saying they don't know darling," said his mother. "Raincoat and sunhat ?" she asked smiling.

Tom frowned. "Hm. I'll play it by ear," he mumbled.

When he stepped outside the snow was nearly all melted in the early morning sunshine. There were occasional little piles left in shady spots, but otherwise it had all melted into puddles. He examined the sky to make sure there were no more hail storms coming his way. It looked clear so far. At the school gates he met Dan. The plaster had been taken off his forehead and he was left with a scratch and a lovely purple bruise. "Nice bruise Dan," said Tom. Dan grunted and tried to brush his fringe over the top of the bruise. The hair instantly pinged back into its original position as soon as he let go.

"Better ?" asked Dan.

"Yeah, loads," lied Tom.

Aneisha and Zoe met them by the doors. "Hi Tom. What's the weather supposed to be today ?" asked Aneisha brightly.

"1% chance that anybody has a clue," said Tom. "Come on. Registration is in two minutes. 100% chance that Mr. McNab will explode if we're late." They all followed him in grinning.

The day passed uneventfully. At lunchtime Tom and the others reported to Frank and Tom told them what he had discovered about the heating control systems. It turned out that the various security agencies had found the same. There had been widespread hacking into heating control systems across the country. "There are back doors into the PLCs," said Tom.

"Tom ?" asked Dan.

"They're easy to hack into," explained Tom. Dan nodded.

"Could someone play with the weather too ?" asked Aneisha.

"I have absolutely no idea how," said Tom. "Nobody has ever done it, apart from making rain clouds rain. That's about as far as it goes."

It was all very unsatisfactory. At the end of the day they had received no calls from Frank so left for home as usual. As they approached the doors to the school yard, they could hear groans from the other students. "What now ?" asked Dan. "Tornadoes ?" he said grinning.

When they reached the exit, they immediately realised what everyone was complaining about. "Fog !" said Aneisha. "Where did that come from ?" They stepped outside into dense, icy fog.

"It was sunny this morning !" complained Tom. "I can't even see the gates." They all stood in the gloomy stillness wondering what to do.

"I think we ought to go home in pairs," said Dan. "It might clear up a bit later," he suggested, looking at the others.

They decided that Aneisha would go home with Tom who lived nearest to her house. Aneisha suggested that Zoe go home with Dan. They were fairly close.

"I'm still under curfew," said Zoe, sounding disappointed.

"Ring the house mother," suggested Aneisha. "I'm sure she'll understand, especially if you're with another agent." Zoe did as Aneisha said and got permission to go round to Dan's house. The house mother thought it was a good idea. She was going out to collect the younger children in the house to be sure they didn't get lost. Dan phoned his Mum to tell her they were on their way.

They all set off slowly. The two pairs split up when Dan walked into the traffic lights at the road junction. "Ow ! How could I not see that ?" he complained, looking up at the changing lights.

From then on Zoe insisted on holding his hand. He had to admit that this was some compensation. They chatted happily until Dan realised he'd lost track of where they were. "Erm, Zo, I think I've lost where we are," he admitted.

"Follow the railings until we get to the road name," suggested Zoe. They did this and Dan breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the end of the road and the enamelled panel with the name of the street.

"OK, left here," said Dan. "We're nearly there." A few people were walking in the opposite direction and there was a lot of apologising and shuffling. Someone tripped over the kerb in front of them as they tried to cross the road. Crossing the road was the most scary part. They could hear cars but it was difficult to tell how far away they were. Luckily everyone was driving really slowly. Dan was surprised when a pair of headlights came weaving towards them and finally swerved into the pavement beside them. A man wound down his window and stuck his head out.

"Excuse me son. Can you tell me what street I'm on ?" asked the man. Dan told him, and the man scratched his head. "Blimey. I'm miles off. What side of the street am I on ?" asked the man.

"The wrong side," said Dan.

"OK. Well, here goes nothing," said the man, setting off again towards the other side of the road. They heard the crunch as he hit the opposite kerb. Dan and Zoe looked at one another and had a fit of giggles. Finally, Dan found his front gate and he let them both in.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're home," said Dan's Mum. "Hello dear, you must be Zoe," she said. "I think it was very sensible of you all to share your walk home. Hopefully if it clears up a little later, Dan's Dad can give you a lift home." Zoe thanked her. She followed Dan up to his room, curious to see what it would be like. Dan dumped his bag and crashed on to the bed. Zoe sat down beside him, feeling a bit self-conscious.

"I wondered what your bedroom would be like," she said.

"Messy ?" suggested Dan with a grin.

"It's not that bad," said Zoe. "It's just so, full," she said looking round at all the posters and books piled on shelves. The room was a fraction of the size of Aneisha's and nothing like as luxurious. There was a guitar propped up in the corner of the room and a music stand. There was a pile of CDs, speakers and an MP3 player. There was a football, a few old toys and a laptop. It spoke of a life being lived in this room. Her room at the orphanage had a few personal possessions but they were only from her recent life since joining MI9. What she really meant was that this room was full of life; Dan's life. It suddenly made her feel quite empty.

"Maybe I should get rid of some of it," said Dan, pushing up on to his elbows.

"No, don't !" said Zoe quickly. "I like it like this," she said. Dan was shocked to see a hint of a tear in the corner of her eye.

"Hey, don't !" he said, sitting up, not too sure what to do. Finally, he put his arm around her shoulders and wiped away the tear running down her cheek. "What's wrong ? Did I do something wrong ?" he asked her worriedly.

"No. Oh no !" said Zoe, wiping another tear away.

"What's wrong then ?" asked Dan gently.

"It's just that, well, it reminds me of what I missed out on," whispered Zoe. It was Dan's turn to feel tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. He wrapped both arms around Zoe and pulled her into a hug. She sank into his arms and laid her head on his shoulder. She felt so safe in his arms.

"I wish I could fix it all for you," whispered Dan.

"You do," said Zoe, smiling into his shoulder. "You always do."

Zoe enjoyed her evening at Dan's house. Dinner wasn't as noisy as it usually was at the orphanage. Dan's Dad made her laugh by gently teasing Dan, to Dan's huge embarrassment. Dan's Mum was kind and funny. She was sorry when it came time for Dan's Dad to drive her home. The fog had almost cleared when he pulled up outside the orphanage. "It was nice to meet you Zoe," said Dan's Dad. Zoe thanked him and got out. The door was opened as she arrived and the house mother waved her in. Zoe turned and waved to Dan's Dad as he pulled away. He smiled and waved back. His smile reminded her of Dan.


	4. Chapter 4

**The weather has gone weird. Is it a natural phenomenon or is something more sinister at work ? Investigations and more weirdness.**

Aneisha had enjoyed her evening at Tom's house. Everyone's house was smaller than hers, so she didn't even notice any more. It was cosy and fun. She had played with Tom's little sisters, chatted with his Mum and then joined Tom in his room. Tom's room was a cross between a Bladequest tribute and techno-geek laboratory. Tom logged on to his email as soon as he got in. "Hey, Nate's got back," he said, scanning through the list of mail.

"Do you mean that guy who built all those robotics for KORPS ?" asked Aneisha.

"Yeah. He's working for MI9 now though," Tom reminded her. "I asked him what he thought about the hackers who messed with all the heating controls. Oh, he says to Skype him." Tom called up his friend on Skype.

"Hi Nate ! How are you doing ?" Tom greeted Nate.

"I am doing things just the same. Is that your friend from school ?" asked Nate.

"Yes, this is Aneisha," said Tom. Aneisha waved into the camera to Nate, who waved back.

"I don't know who is doing the hacking," said Nate without any further delay. "It's not one of the usual groups on the grid. I think it's someone new who is practising."

"Practising for what ?" asked Tom.

"I don't know. Maybe something bigger," said Nate. "My house got really hot. I nearly had to go outside. Digby had to cool me down," he said.

"Who's Digby ?" asked Aneisha. Nate swung the camera round to his large two-legged robot who looked after him round the house. The robot waved.

"Hello Aneisha," it said in a robotic voice.

Aneisha laughed. "That's brilliant !" she said delightedly.

"Do you like it ?" asked Nate. "I gave him a voice. He can respond to basic commands and simple dialogue. I'm glad you like it," he added, sounding really pleased.

Aneisha wondered what level of social skills Nate had programmed the robot with. Nate himself was on the autistic spectrum, so didn't have a great grasp of social interaction himself.

"Our school got so hot, they closed it early and we were all told to go home," Aneisha told him. "Then as soon as we got outside it started to hail huge hailstones. We all had to run back inside again."

"Can anyone control the weather do you know ?" asked Tom.

"I don't know anyone who can," said Nate. "Do you think it's the same person who is reprogramming the heating controls ?" he asked. "There's a guy on the net who calls himself the 'Weatherman'. He is a global warming activist. He has had some quite strange messages recently. I don't understand what he means," said Nate.

"That's a good idea Nate," said Tom. "Thanks for the tip."

"OK. Bye," said Nate, instantly cutting the connection.

Tom was still sitting with his mouth open. "OK. I think we're finished now," he said, turning to Aneisha and sighing.

"He's getting a bit better," said Aneisha.

"Yes. A bit," agreed Tom. "Let's look up the Weatherman." He did a few searches and finally pulled up a website. "Hm, global warming …. man's interference with nature …... increased economic activity ….. at our peril ….. underestimating the force of the weather …... hm, mostly pretty standard stuff," muttered Tom.

Aneisha read over his shoulder. "Just because he's mad about global warming doesn't mean he can control the weather," she pointed out.

"Absolutely not !" agreed Tom. "What's this though ?" he said, reading out from one of the postings on the website. "The earth's weather will teach man a lesson in humility. Hm, that could be a threat. Maybe that's what Nate was talking about. Wonder who this guy is ?" he pondered.

"Why don't you pass it on to Frank ?" suggested Aneisha. "He can get MI9 looking into this guy. If he's a likely candidate then Frank may get us to look into him." Tom did as she suggested and they relaxed for the rest of the evening, until Tom's Dad walked Aneisha back to her house. By the time she got back there were lights on in the house and her parents had returned from their business trip.

The next day Mr. Flatley was teaching geography. "Well class, we have an unexpected treat in store for you all. We will be going on a field trip tomorrow. A local landowner allows ecological studies on his estate and we have been invited to carry out some field study work there. You will all need to bring outdoor clothing," he instructed them.

Tom looked across at Aneisha. She nodded and smiled back at him secretly. This had to be MI9 business. Nobody organised a field trip that quickly, especially not Mr. Flatley. Tom wondered if Mr. Flatley ever thought it odd how all these great opportunities just fell into his lap without any effort on his part. Tom guessed he was headmaster for that very reason. He never did wonder about it.

Frank called the team down to base at lunch time. "Good call Tom. I followed up Nate's suggestion and we think we've tracked down this guy calling himself the 'Weatherman'," said Frank. "A large local estate was bought quite recently by an anonymous buyer. We think he is this man," he said, pulling up a photograph on the screen. There was a rather grainy picture of an ordinary looking man behind a podium at a conference. "This is Sinstra Storm. At least, that is what he is known as now. He was born Cyril Stonebottom. He's been part of a number of different ecological action groups. He dropped off the radar just over a year ago and reappeared recently on his website. The messages of his site have become increasingly threatening in recent months so MI9 think he is worth investigating."

"Is it a good idea taking the whole class along ?" asked Aneisha. "What if he is some kind of eco-terrorist ?"

"Oh, this is just reconnaissance," Frank assured her. "You are looking for evidence of any strange activity on his estate. Don't attempt to investigate it yourselves. Gather information and get out. Simple as that," he added.

"Oh Frank, can I skip training tonight please ? My Mum and Dad have got tickets to the theatre. I haven't seen them in ages," begged Aneisha. Frank said she could go. Then Tom asked if he could go home and work on a gadget which they could use on the field trip. Frank sighed and agreed.

"Looks like it's just you and me then," said Dan to Zoe as they carefully exited the Janitor's Cupboard. After school finished, Tom and Aneisha headed straight home. Dan and Zoe went to the gym where their regular MI9 trainer drilled them in gymnastics and general fitness. Dan loved the physical activity and Zoe seemed to enjoy everything. Zoe was given some additional flexibility exercises and Dan had to work on his upper body strength. By the time they finished they were both tired. The trainer slipped out of the school unnoticed and Zoe and Dan changed and headed for home.

It was starting to get dark as they left the school. Gusts of wind were whistling round the school yard. Dan looked up into the darkening sky. "We've had heat, hail and snow. Maybe wind is next," he wondered aloud.

"I think you're just looking for something where there isn't anything," said Zoe. "It's just a bit of wind," she added laughingly.

As they headed down the road past the small local park the wind was picking up steadily. Dan noticed that the park was still open. "Do you want to cut through the park ?" he suggested. "It'll save us a bit of time." Zoe agreed and they headed through the park gates.

The two were chatting happily and didn't notice that they were being watched. As they rounded a group of shrubs Dan looked up in shock to see a group of malevolent looking young men standing staring at them.

"Well, what have we here ?" asked one of the young men mockingly. "Two young love birds boys ?" The other youngsters laughed nastily. "Got anything for us kiddies ?" asked the leader of the gang.


	5. Chapter 5

**The weather has gone weird. Is it a natural phenomenon or is something more sinister at work ? Fight and flight.**

"_Well, what have we here ?" asked one of the young men mockingly. "Two young love birds boys ?" The other youngsters laughed nastily. "Got anything for us kiddies ?" asked the leader of the gang. _

"Like what ?" asked Dan uneasily. He counted heads. There were eight of them. He glanced across at Zoe, who nodded slightly at him. Yep, they could take these out pretty easily between the two of them. The wind picked up and blew Dan and Zoe's hair around. The gang of youths were all wearing hoodies. They smiled nastily at them.

"Your little girlfriend here. She's nice. I wouldn't mind a bit of her," said the gang leader, eyeing Zoe up and down. The others all laughed raucously and they started walking towards them. Dan and Zoe slipped off their school bags and dropped into defensive positions.

"Me right, you left," muttered Zoe. Dan nodded his agreement and they launched an attack at the gang. The first guy didn't know what hit him. Zoe launched a flying kick at his stomach and left him creased over on the ground. Dan swung punches to both sides, knocking back the gang leader and one of the others. The remaining five instantly dropped back.

"What the hell !" shouted one of the youths. "Where the hell did you learn to do that ?" he asked, disbelievingly.

"You'll never know," said Dan through gritted teeth.

"Get 'em lads," shouted the leader. The seven youths who were still on their feet charged at the two younger teens. As Zoe and Dan kicked and punched with their backs to one another, the wind started howling around them. A piece of tree branch whipped one of their attackers across the back, making him yelp. Soon they seemed to be at the centre of a whirlwind of leaves and punches. Zoe knocked out two of the gang. They were starting to pile up on the ground.

Dan was finding it harder to keep his balance. While he was on one leg, kicking out at the gang leader, who he had taken a particular dislike to, the wind caught him off balance and threw him to the ground. The gang leader staggered and then grinned, lifting his foot to stamp on Dan's outflung arm. Before he could make contact, another gust of wind knocked him over, cracking his head on the tarmac, and leaving him dazed on the ground. Dan struggled to his feet and walloped the next guy who came near. Only two of their attackers were now left on their feet, and they were struggling with the wind too.

"Come on. Grab your bag and let's make a run for it !" Dan shouted above the noise of the wind. He and Zoe picked up their bags, grabbed one another's hands and started running for the park exit. The wind was pulling them from side to side. Each gust thrust them to the right and as it died they staggered back to the left. They were clinging desperately to one another to keep upright. As they neared the exit there was a ferocious creaking and cracking noise and Zoe glanced across to see a large tree swinging dangerously towards them. "Dan !" she screamed, pulling back hard on his arm. They bother staggered backwards and Dan fell, with Zoe still pulling on his right arm. The tree crashed to the ground, the trunk just short of Dan's feet. He shot his legs back as fast as he could, scrabbling and twisting to get up and out of the way. A smaller branch broke off and slapped him across the back, narrowly missing Zoe's head. Her face was scratched by a few falling twigs. Fired with adrenalin and fear, they picked up their bags and raced round the tree and out of the park.

They both ran hand in hand all the way to Dan's house. Too shaken to find his keys, Dan rang the bell. His mother answered the door. "Oh Zoe, how nice to see you again. Oh, heavens ! What's happened to your face dear ?" she said, opening the door wider and waving them both inside. They both stepped inside. Dan was shaking. Zoe had blood trickling down her face. They wrapped their arms around one another and hugged tightly. Dan didn't notice his mother leaving to pick up the phone. "In the kitchen you two," she said. "I'll get the first aid things."

They did as she said and sat next to one another at the kitchen table, still holding hands. "Zo. You OK ?" whispered Dan.

"Yes," she whispered back.

Dan's Mum returned. "Take your jackets off," she told them quietly. They did as she asked. She cleaned off Zoe's face and gave her some clean dressings to hold against the scratches until the bleeding finally stopped. She was just starting to clean up Dan's face after pulling a couple of leaves out of his hair when the doorbell rang. Frank came into the kitchen. He pulled up a chair next to Zoe's and looked at them both. Dan was white and shaking. Frank turned instead to Zoe who now looked a lot calmer.

"What happened Zoe ?" he asked her quietly.

Zoe told him how they had taken a short cut through the park and met the gang of thugs. She explained how they fought them off and how the wind had picked up. When she got to the part about the tree nearly hitting them she stopped and closed her eyes. She could still smell the leaves and hear the cracking, crashing noise. Frank didn't push her and she told him about that as well. "One of the branches hit Dan on the back and I got scratched on the face," she said before stopping.

Frank looked at Dan's Mum. "Sit forward and let's have a look," said his Mum. She gently pulled up his jumper and shirt to get a look at his back. "Oh Dan !" she said, sounding upset. Frank looked, followed by Zoe who put a hand over her mouth. A livid red mark ran across Dan's back, just short of breaking the skin. Dan still didn't say anything. His eyes were unfocussed and he was still shivering.

"He's still in shock," said Frank. "Could we make them a bit more comfortable ?" he asked Dan's Mum.

"Why don't you two come and sit on the sofa and I'll make you both a hot chocolate ?" she said softly.

"Yes please. Come on Dan," said Zoe, taking his hand and leading him out of the kitchen. Dan followed her as if in a dream. They sat on the sofa together. Zoe kept talking softly to Dan until his Mum came with the drinks. Zoe sipped on the hot sweet liquid. It was wonderfully comforting. She smiled at Dan's Mum. "Thanks," she said. "Try a bit Dan," she said, putting down her cup and lifting his cup up to his lips. He breathed in the hot, sweet, chocolatey smell and his eyes seemed to focus suddenly. Then a tear ran down his face.

"I'm. I'm. Sorry," he finally stammered out.

"What for ?" asked Zoe.

"Sh, sh, shouldn't have gone through the p p park," he finally managed.

"Oh Dan ! Who was to know ?" said Zoe, laughing in relief as much as anything. She was now half laughing and half crying. Dan who was just crying wrapped his arms around her.

"Ow ! My back's really sore," he said finally, reaching round to touch his back. "Oh, thanks !" he said in surprise as his Mum pushed the cup of hot chocolate into his hands.

When Frank came back in he found the two teens drinking hot chocolate and Dan's Mum looking relieved. "I've spoken to our police liaison," Frank told them. "I've told them about the gang hanging out in the park and about the gale and falling trees."

"Is there a lot of damage ?" asked Zoe.

"Well, that's the odd thing," said Frank frowning. "The gale only occurred in a narrow band sweeping through the town, which took in the park. Nowhere else had any wind at all. There is enormous damage where the wind struck, but nowhere else."

Dan and Zoe stopped drinking to stare at him in disbelief. "How is that possible ?" asked Dan. He looked such an odd sight, with his white, tear stained face creased in a puzzled frown.

Frank smiled. "I have no idea. We'll get to work on it in the morning shall we ?" he asked. "You two need to get a good night's sleep first. You've got your field trip tomorrow. I've promised to take Zoe home, if you've finished your drink Zoe ?" he asked. She nodded. "I think a bit of Witch Hazel on that," said Frank, nodding towards Dan. Dan's Mum nodded.

"On what ?" asked Dan.

"Your back," said his Mum patiently.

After Zoe and Frank left, Dan's Mum took him up to the bathroom where she put some Witch Hazel on the rising bruise across his back as gently as she could. Dan winced throughout, but didn't complain.

"Go and sit down. I'll finish off your dinner," said his Mum.

"How did Frank get here ?" asked Dan finally.

"I phoned him. We have his number in case of emergencies," explained his Mum. "I couldn't call the police about that gang of young men could I ? In any case, you weren't in any condition to answer questions. Now do as you're told and go and sit down," she ordered him. Dan did as he was told.

Once the tension had completely left his body and he'd eaten a hot meal, Dan was exhausted. His back really hurt. His Mum made him show it to his Dad when he got in. There was much tutting, which almost made Dan laugh. He had surely had worse injuries than this. He took a couple of pain killers and went to bed earlier than usual. He twisted round in his parent's bedroom in an attempt to get a look at his back in the full length mirror. Ouch ! That didn't look pretty ! Sighing he pulled his pyjama top back down and went to throw himself into bed. Tomorrow would be another day and another mission.


	6. Chapter 6

**The weather has gone weird. Is it a natural phenomenon or is something more sinister at work ? Hiding and seeking.**

_Tomorrow would be another day and another mission._

The class gathered in the school yard as Mr. Flatley checked everyone off on his list. "Excellent ! I think that's everyone," he said, ticking off the last name. "And here is the mini bus," he added. Frank drove a large minibus into the yard. "Mr. London has kindly agreed to drive us out there today," said Mr. Flatley. "Everyone get on board please."

They all climbed on board. Tom sat with Dan and Aniesha sat with Zoe. As they set off, the talk was all about weather. "Did you get any of that wind last night ?" asked Roly.

"No. I gave the beans a miss yesterday," said Byron.

"Oh, ha ha. Very funny," said Roly sarcastically. "My Nan's greenhouse took off. She found it down the end of the road. My Dad's still looking for our bike locker."

"We didn't have any wind at all," said Melissa. "It seems to depend where you live. How about you Dan ?" she asked.

"Oh, I got caught up in a bit of wind last night," said Dan cautiously. "It was pretty strong."

"What happened to your face ?" Melissa asked Zoe.

"I got scratched by some flying branches," said Zoe, sneaking a look at Dan. She noticed that he wasn't leaning too far back in his seat. That bruise on his back must really hurt.

"Oh you were out in it too !" said Melissa. Zoe could see the other girl looking from her to Dan and back again, obviously calculating the odds.

"It's totally weird !" complained Roly. "We've had every single kind of weather this week. It's like someone got a 'Make Your Own Weather' machine for their birthday and they've pressed each of the buttons one at a time to try it out !" This made everyone laugh.

Tom muttered in Dan's ear, "Might not be so far off !"

"What do you think we'll get next then Roly ?" asked Byron. "Raining frogs ? Clouds of locusts ?"

"Might be," said Roly. "Not sure about the locusts though. Don't think we get those do we Mr. Flatley ?" he asked the teacher who was sitting next to Frank.

"What was that Roly ?" asked Mr. Flatley.

"Do you get locusts in this country ?" Melissa shouted through to him as she was sitting a bit nearer.

"Oh no. Hot countries only, thank goodness," said Mr. Flatley over his shoulder.

They finally drove up to some large metal gates set into a stone gateway. Frank got out and spoke into a keypad door lock on the gatepost. Finally the gates swung slowly open and he climbed back into the minibus. They drove through trees up a long gravel path before coming out into an open meadow area which was being grazed by sheep. After what seemed ages, they drove past a huge mansion. Everyone craned to get a look at it. "Wow, that place is huge !" said Roly. "I wonder what a place like that costs ? Who buys a place like that ?" he asked.

Aneisha leaned forward to speak quietly to Dan and Tom. "That's a good question actually. Where did he get the money from ?" she pointed out. Dan and Tom nodded. At last the bus drew up outside some farm buildings some way behind the main house. There was a wooded area to one side and fields to the other side.

"Right, everyone out !" ordered Mr. Flatley. Then he turned round and realised he was the only person sitting in the bus. "Oh, my, that was rather quick !" he said, scrambling out with his back-pack. The class were milling around in a rather aimless manner. Dan, Tom, Aneisha and Zoe took the opportunity to shuffle closer to Frank. Frank took his glasses off and started polishing them on his jacket.

"OK team, there appear to be several areas of interest. I want you to stay in pairs at all times. I can have a look around these farm building. I need you to check out these woodlands as much as possible and we need to try and get a look at the house. We may have to play that by ear," he muttered to them. They nodded without comment.

"Right, gather round everybody," ordered Mr. Flatley. He glanced at his watch. "There should be a ranger joining us shortly. Now today we are going to carry out two types of ecological survey. I want you all to pair up," he instructed. Dan and Tom instantly joined at the shoulder as did Zoe and Aneisha. The rest of the class sorted themselves out rather more slowly. Melissa looked across to Dan, but didn't seem surprised to find him standing with Tom. "I want half of you to carry out a meadow based study and half a woodland based study," said Mr. Flatley. The team all looked at Frank who shrugged his shoulders. Tom and Dan joined the woodland team and Zoe and Aneisha joined the meadow team.

A man came out of the farm buildings and walked up to them. He was carrying a set of booklets and worksheets. "Good morning everyone. I'm John Danson, one of the park rangers. We're interested in monitoring the biological diversity of the estate as part of an ongoing project to monitor climate change. What we want you to do today is carry out a species count in different areas of the park. We'll give you each a set of coordinates. When you get there we want you to mark out an area of ground five metres by five metres. Then we want you to go through that area counting the numbers of different species of plants. These booklets contain pictures and descriptions of the plants we're interested in. The worksheet is for recording what you find. Please try to be accurate because we will be using these results for our work," explained the man.

"Any questions ?" asked the ranger. Everybody looked at one another and shook their heads. "OK, woodland people ?" he asked. Tom and Dan's group raised their hands. Each pair was handed a worksheet and booklet. Then he distributed the rest amongst the meadow study group. "The coordinates are printed on the top of each worksheet," said the man. "Do you all know how to find your location ?" Most people nodded but others shook their heads. "OK, if you know where you're going, get going. I'll help the rest of you," said the ranger. Mr. Flatley laid his map out on the ground to let everyone find their coordinate locations. Tom and Dan were one of the first pairs to set off. Aneisha and Zoe left afterwards, heading off in opposite directions.

As soon as they were out of sight of the others, they each put in their earpieces and called in to Frank. "We'll take a long route through the woods Frank and see what we can find," reported Dan.

"We're heading across the fields," reported Aneisha. "We'll use our binoculars to get as good a look at the house as we can," she said. Their binoculars were special high power ones which included cameras to record what they were looking at.

"I'll have my spy-pod in the bus," said Frank. "I'll be looking at your feeds. Be careful," he added.

Dan set off at some speed through the woods, before noticing that Tom was puffing hard behind him. "Too fast ?" he asked. Tom stopped to get his breath back, leaning against a tree and nodded. "I'll slow down a bit. I just don't want to attract attention to the fact that we're covering half the woods to reach our survey point," explained Dan apologetically.

"You could just leave me and get on with it," suggested Tom.

"No way. Frank said we stick together, so we stick together alright ?" said Dan. Their circuit of the woods didn't show up anything of any interest and all too soon they reached the area they were supposed to be surveying. They marked out their square with tape and pulled out the booklet with species on it. Dan started working across the square in strips, marking down what species he could identify. Tom started fiddling with something in his bag. Finally he pulled out a small plastic box with two long metal aerials sticking out of the side which he attached by a cable to his spy-pod. "What's that ?" asked Dan.

"It's a field detector," said Tom. He looked up and saw Dan's puzzled face. "It detects electro-magnetic fields, but right across the different spectra and it can pick up really weak ones too," he explained.

"OK. Sounds good," said Dan, continuing to note down species. "Do you need me for a minute ?" he asked.

"Nope. I'm good," said Tom, running his device around himself in a circle. "Ooh, something just over there," he said, pointing his device in one direction. "I'll check it out. You stay here OK ?"

"OK. Be careful. Call in if you find anything," said Dan. "Don't go too far away OK. We're supposed to be sticking together don't forget," he warned. Tom walked off into the woods, pointing his detector in front of him.

Dan carried on noting down species. He had to concentrate because all the plants were unfamiliar to him and he had to keep cross-referencing the example diagrams in the book for leaf shapes and stem types. A twig snapped close by and he shot upright in surprise. The ranger was standing only a few feet away. "Where's your friend ?" asked the ranger.

"Tom ? Oh he, erm, went for a quick toilet break, you know," Dan laughed uncomfortably, nodding off into the trees. He hoped Tom didn't come back waving that detector around in front of him. The ranger was no longer smiley and friendly. In fact he looked quite the opposite. "Something wrong ?" Dan asked.

"Yes. We don't like people wandering about in the woods," said the ranger. "It causes damage to the habitats," he added, staring suspiciously into the trees. He walked over to Dan and glanced at his worksheet. "You're friend letting you do all the work is he ?" he asked.

"No. He's the brain box of the class," said Dan. He was feeling distinctly uncomfortable. He wished Tom would hurry and get back. He'd been gone a long time. Suddenly he heard Tom's voice in his earpiece.

"Dan you'll never guess what I just found in the woods !" Tom said excitedly. "Dan ?"

"What was that noise ?" asked the ranger suspiciously. He walked up to Dan, spotted the earpiece, grabbed Dan's arm and pulled out the earpiece. "What's this ?" he demanded.


	7. Chapter 7

**The weather has gone weird. Is it a natural phenomenon or is something more sinister at work ? Hiding and seeking.**

"_What was that noise ?" asked the ranger suspiciously. He walked up to Dan, spotted the earpiece, grabbed Dan's arm and pulled out the earpiece. "What's this ?" he demanded._

"It's my earpiece for my MP3," said Dan. "Must have left it in by mistake. Get so used to wearing it, you know," he said, trying to sound innocent.

"Dan, are you there ?" came Tom's voice through the earpiece. It sounded tinny and quiet from a distance, but it was clearly audible. The ranger pulled on Dan's arm and twisted it up behind his back.

"Ow, let go ! What are you doing ?" asked Dan.

Ignoring his pleas, the ranger pulled out a radio from his pocket and spoke into it. "Team, I think we've got a spy on the premises. One of the kids has a radio earpiece in and his partner is missing. What do you want me to do ?" he asked. "Yeah ? Do you want me to wait and see if the other one gets back ? No ? OK, see you in five," he said, pushing the radio back inside his jacket pocket. "Right you. With me. You can explain yourself to the boss," said the ranger, shoving Dan towards his backpack, picking it up and then propelling the teen in front of him through the woods. Dan tried to loosen the man's grip, but he only tightened the twist on his arm, making him groan with the pain.

Tom had been making his way back to Dan's position when he spotted the ranger grabbing Dan's arm. He immediately ducked down behind some cover. He heard the ranger speaking and realised that it was him who had given Dan away. Tom instantly felt a huge weight of guilt descending. Should he jump out and try to help Dan ? He wasn't really a fighter. He could just make things worse. Still wondering what to do Tom heard Frank's voice over his earpiece. "Tom, whatever you are thinking of doing, don't !" he ordered quietly. "Stay put. I'm on my way to your position." Tom peeked out of his cover and saw Dan being taken away through the trees. Frank must have heard everything. The ranger had found Dan's earpiece, but not the hidden microphone.

"Zoe, Aneisha !" said Frank's voice.

"We heard," said Aneisha's tense voice. "We're watching the house now. Oh, someone's coming this way."

"Take out your earpieces, hide all your equipment and get on with the task," instructed Frank. "Make sure you look natural. Only put your earpieces back in once you are entirely alone, understood ?" he asked.

"Understood," said the two girls.

Frank closed his contact and cursed under his breath. He had disconnected Dan's earpiece from the communications loop as soon as he heard the ranger taking it from Dan but too late to stop it picking up Tom's message. Now, he was carefully making his way through the trees, trying to keep clear of all the other students and Mr. Flatley. This required quite a few wide detours. It took him over ten minutes to reach Tom who, judging by the look on his face, was now imagining the worst possible scenarios for Dan.

"Where are you taking me ?" came Dan's voice over the earpieces.

"Shut up and keep walking," came the more distant ranger's voice, followed by another stifled groan of pain from Dan.

"Frank, thank goodness. We need to help Dan !" said Tom.

"All right, stay calm Tom. Pack up all your gear. We need to get you to another location before we can do anything," said Frank.

"Oh, I have something to show you," said Tom. He grabbed all his gear together, left the tape and worksheets and led Frank through the undergrowth to where he had been when Dan had been caught. "Look !" he said, pointing ahead.

Frank looked, and took off his glasses. They were fake. He wore contact lenses normally. The glasses were just part of his caretaker disguise. His face immediately became more intense and business-like when the glasses came off. "What have we here ?" he asked, kneeling down in front of a strange metallic object, projecting out of the ground in the clearing in front of them. Frank looked around to check that they weren't being watched. There appeared to be nobody around.

"What is it Tom ?" he asked.

"I don't know, but it's generating a weak electromagnetic field," said Tom. "I recorded the results on the spy-pod. It's not like anything I've ever seen before," he said. "It could be some sort of intruder detection system, or a monitoring system of some kind," he said.

"There are no manufacturer's marks on it," said Frank, examining all round the object. "It's not part of some proprietory system. It's been custom made," he muttered. "Have you touched it ?" he asked.

"No. I didn't dare," said Tom. Frank nodded his agreement.

"OK. Photograph it, and send the recorded results to Stella," instructed Frank. "We need to move to a safer location," he added, looking around them.

Tom took the photo and started setting up a message to send to Stella. "Does Stella know what's happened ?" asked Tom.

Frank shook his head. "No, I'll tell her once you've sent that data," he said. Tom told him the message was sent, and Frank pulled out his phone. "Come on. We need to get moving," he said. "Hi Stella. Dan's been caught by one of the park rangers and he's been taken away. His microphone is currently still working. You can pick up the feed. Tom's still free and he's sent you information about a device he's found in the park. We're on the move. Aneisha and Zoe are on silent at the moment, because they're under surveillance. Can you arrange reinforcements in case we need them please ? Yes. I know. Thanks Stella," he said, hanging up. "Come on Tom. This way," he instructed, leading Tom through the woods, all the while keeping his eyes peeled for possible trouble.

Meanwhile, Zoe and Aneisha had their own troubles to deal with. As soon as they saw someone heading up to the meadow area from the house, they did as Frank said and concealed all of their high tech equipment, making themselves look like all the other groups of teens working across the fields. Fortunately they had done some work. Zoe's sheet looked a little bare. "Zoe," hissed Aneisha. "You need to put more on your sheet !" she whispered.

"But I can't record the species any quicker," complained Zoe. "I have to keep checking everything against the book."

"You don't have to actually do it Zoe !" said Aneisha. "Just make it up and look like you're half way across the area. Put any old thing down !" she hissed.

"Oh !" said Zoe, finally getting the point. "We only have to pretend," she said, making a set of random marks on the worksheet, then moving further across the survey area. She glanced around and saw a ranger talking to Melissa and her partner further down the field. They seemed satisfied and looked around before walking towards Zoe and Aniesha's position. "They're coming," she said, getting her head down and using her booklet to properly identify some of the plants she was finding.

"How are you getting on girls ?" asked a voice. They looked up and smiled at their visitor.

"Oh, it's a bit slow going to be honest," said Aneisha. "I've never seen half of these plants before," she said. "Would it be a problem if we don't get it 100% correct ?" she asked hopefully.

"We would prefer you to be as accurate as possible," said the man, crouching down beside them and looking closely at their sheets. "Ah, I see you've found quite a lot of the Bugloss," he commented, after checking Zoe's sheet. Aneisha saw Zoe's eyes widening in worry, but then the man said, "Always a good sign of healthy diversity in a meadow."

"Oh, that's good !" said Zoe with enormous relief.

"Yes, I'm glad you take these things seriously too," said the man, completely misunderstanding the reason for her relief. "We want to find as many different species as possible," he added, looking closely at the side of Zoe's face, as well as Aneisha's before glancing at their backpacks. Seemingly satisfied, he said, "Try not to trample on the plants after you've recorded them though. Well, good work girls. Keep it up. It all adds to our knowledge of the planet you know."

As he walked away towards the next pair of students, Zoe and Aneisha breathed a big sigh of relief. "That could have been close," said Aneisha. "If Dan hadn't been caught first, it could have been us."

"Do you think we should put our earpieces back in yet ?" asked Zoe.

"No. Let's wait until he's off the field," said Aneisha. "He might still come past on his way back. We need to show some progress." In spite of her own words, she kept a careful eye on the ranger's progress around the field. He seemed to take forever, spending quite some time with Roly and Byron. Finally he walked back down the field and checked in on their progress once again. Seemingly satisfied with what he saw, he returned back in the direction of the house. "Now !" whispered Aneisha. They both crouched down low and pushed their earpieces back in. The first thing they heard was the voice of as stranger.

"This equipment is all far too high tech for a schoolboy. Who are you ?" demanded the voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I came here with my school," said Dan's voice, which was interrupted by a loud slapping sound.

"Don't give me that rubbish !" shouted the voice. "Give me that earpiece," the voice instructed. There was a sound of something being stamped on. "We know there are powers seeking to destroy our work. You'll be very sorry you ever tried to interfere with us boy ! Tie him and take him upstairs ! Wait ! Have you checked for hidden microphones ?" asked the man. There was a sound of scratching and rustling, followed by thumps and bumps. They had found the microphone. "Hm. Thought you could keep this from us did you ? Say goodbye to your co-conspirators. You won't be seeing them for a while," said the voice angrily, before the signal was cut off.


	8. Chapter 8

**The weather has gone weird. Is it a natural phenomenon or is something more sinister at work ? **

"_Don't give me that rubbish !" shouted the voice. "Give me that earpiece," the voice instructed. There was a sound of something being stamped on. "We know there are powers seeking to destroy our work. You'll be very sorry you ever tried to interfere with us boy ! Tie him and take him upstairs ! Wait ! Have you checked for hidden microphones ?" asked the man. There was a sound of scratching and rustling, followed by thumps and bumps. They had found the microphone. "Hm. Thought you could keep this from us did you ? Say goodbye to your friends. You won't be seeing them for a while," said the voice angrily, before the signal was cut off._

"Frank ?" asked Aneisha. She glanced at Zoe who looked worried.

"I know. I heard it too," said Frank. "Keep focussed team. We need to work together to get Dan out. Tom found a device in the woodland which could be associated with this unusual weather activity, but we're not certain yet. We need to get into the house."

"Frank, I could go," said Tom's voice very quietly.

"Tom, you can't. It's too dangerous. Look what happened to Dan !" exclaimed Aneisha.

"If I go without any spying gear, I could pretend I was looking for Dan," said Tom. He sounded nervous in spite of his best efforts to sound confident.

"If you go without any spying gear, you are going in without any backup," said Aneisha. "You'll be on your own."

"I'll be with Dan," said Tom.

"He's tied up somewhere," pointed out Aneisha.

"Frank, can't MI9 just raid the building ?" asked Zoe.

"Wait a minute. I'm getting a call from Stella," said Frank. There was a minute's pause while he took the call. "OK, MI9 technical think that the device Tom found could theoretically play some part in a weather control device," said Frank. "They say there is obviously a lot more to it. We haven't seen it all. Stella says there is enough evidence now to raid the place, but she needs to know what sort of defences they are using. There is some sophisticated security hardware around the gate and fence. She wants us to try and gain access to the house," he finished.

"I think I've got the only plan," said Tom.

"It's hardly a plan," said Aneisha. "We need to back you up."

"OK. We don't have a lot of options here," said Frank. "We didn't come prepared for a raid. It was supposed to be just reconnaissance. Tom, do you have your shoe communicator with you."

"Yes. It's not activated at the moment," said Tom.

"Good. Leave it that way. Give me all of your other devices," instructed Frank. "You are going to have to go in without anything.

"What about my phone ?" asked Tom.

"OK, keep that," said Frank. "It would look odd if you had nothing. Go up to the front door and say you're looking for Dan. Make up something convincing OK ?"

"Erm, like what ?" asked Tom.

"Say you need to find Dan. You're friends saw him coming to the house with a ranger. If he isn't back with the group in the next half hour he'll be in big trouble with Mr. Flatley," said Aneisha.

"OK. That sounds good," said Tom, sounding a lot happier. "OK, taking off the comms stuff now," he said.

"Good luck Tom !" said Aneisha and Zoe together.

"Aneisha and Zoe, can you keep surveillance on the house please ?" asked Frank.

"On it !" said Aneisha, lying flat with her binoculars focussed on the building.

Tom walked up to the front door of the house. It was intimidating enough approaching a huge stately home's door without the knowledge that Dan had already been imprisoned in this building. He rang a surprisingly small doorbell button on the side of the door. He heard a jingling bell somewhere deep in the house. After a short wait a man came to the door. He was wearing the same uniform as all of the rangers. "Can I help you ?" asked the ranger.

"Erm, I'm sorry to bother you," began Tom nervously, "but I wondered if you knew where my friend Dan is. He disappeared when we were in the woods and one of our friends said he saw him walking towards the house with a ranger. If he isn't back in the next half hour he's going to be in real trouble with Mr. Flatley," explained Tom.

"I think I know the boy you mean," said the man. "You're a friend of his are you ?"

"Yes. We're in the same class at school," said Tom. "Only he's a bit more sporty than me, you know. I'm a bit more into science and stuff," he burbled, willing himself to stop. He was probably talking too much.

The man eyed him up suspiciously for a moment and then pulled the door open. "Come in," he said. Tom stepped inside, looking around him at the opulent surroundings.

"Wow, it's pretty spectacular in here !" he said. The ranger told him to wait while he called another member of the household. After a minute he came back.

"Mr. Storm wants to meet you," he said.

"Who's Mr. Storm ?" asked Tom as if he didn't know.

"He owns this whole park," said the ranger. "He is very careful about security. I need to search you for any electronic devices," he said, before frisking tom and removing his mobile phone. "You can have this back later," he said, before leading him up a staircase.

"Wow ! So he's in charge of all this environmental and ecological stuff !" said Tom, trying to sound excited and impressed. He tried to think what Aneisha would do in this situation. He decided that ingratiating himself with the boss would be the best route. "That's brilliant. When Mr. Flatley said we would be coming here, I checked out your website. It's really fascinating," said Tom appreciatively. He was shown into an empty room and told to wait.

Shortly another man walked in and stopped and stared at him. "I am Mr. Storm," said the man. "I understand you are looking for your friend," he said.

"Oh er yes, Dan," said Tom. "Actually, Mr. Storm it's a real honour to meet you sir," said Tom, holding out his hand. The man looked at him suspiciously, but shook his hand. "I never dreamed I'd actually get to meet you in person. I read up on your website when I found out we were coming here. It's really fascinating !" enthused Tom.

"Well, I'm glad to meet someone who appreciates our work," said the man in a slightly more friendly manner. "And what was your friend doing here ?" he asked.

Tom managed to look puzzled. "Well, the same as me. I only went to pay a quick visit, you know, in the trees and I guess I walked a good distance so nobody could see me, but when I came back he'd gone. He's always playing around with these weird gadgets. Don't know what he needed them for. We had all the information we needed in the booklets. He said he needed to look stuff up," said Tom, trying to sound annoyed.

"He's your friend ?" asked Mr. Storm.

"Yes," said Tom.

"He doesn't exactly seem your type," said Mr. Storm with a smile.

"Well, I know we're not much alike," said Tom. "He's a good laugh though. He's a bit mad on the sporty stuff I suppose. I'm not. You might have noticed," he said, grinning. "Is he here ?" he asked.

"Yes. We'll bring him to you," said Mr. Storm. He spoke briefly into a phone and turned to wait. Tom tried to reduce his nerves by looking around him. The door opened and Dan walked in, closely followed by two of the rangers. His hands were free, but he had a bruise on his left cheek.

"Dan !" said Tom. "Where did you get to ? I was looking all over for you ! If Mike hadn't seen you coming over here I wouldn't have known where to come. Mr. Flatley is going to be so mad if you don't come back on time," he said.

Dan swallowed and looked at Mr. Storm. "Erm, I'm sorry Tom. The ranger asked me to come here," said Dan, looking at the other men. "He wanted to see some of the gadgets I was using," he added. Then he suddenly blurted. "Tom will need to get back to the group now. He'll get into trouble if he stays here," he said, looking pleadingly at Mr. Storm.

"What about you ?" asked Tom.

"Oh, we're going to show Dan some things," said Mr. Storm.

"Oh !" said Tom, sounding jealous. "Lucky you !" he said rather sarcastically.

"Yeah. You know me. Always fall on my feet," said Dan with a weak smile. "Tell Mr. Flatley, I'll be back later OK ?"

"Who is Mr. Flatley ?" asked Mr. Storm.

"Our head teacher," said Tom. "Real stickler for the rules is Mr. Flatley. He won't be pleased about Dan wandering off," he said, rather sulkily.

"Please Tom," said Dan pleadingly. "You don't want to get into trouble do you ? You hate detention."

"We were told to stick together weren't we ?" asked Tom pointedly. Reluctantly, Dan nodded.

"Oh, I think Tom should stay. He deserves a chance to see our work," said Mr. Storm. "Bring them both," he said to the rangers. Tom saw Dan's shoulders sag. He'd obviously hoped to get them to let Tom go.

Mr. Storm placed a friendly hand on Tom's shoulder and guided him from the room. Tom noticed the rangers taking hold of Dan's arms and bringing him along behind.

"Mr. Storm, Sir," said Tom. "Have you noticed all the weird weather we've been having lately ? Do you think it might be symptomatic of global warming. You know, affecting the weather patterns and making it more extreme ?" he asked, looking up at the taller man.

"Well, I do have a theory about that Tom," said the man, obviously pleased to have the opportunity to speak to an appreciative audience. "I've been interested in extreme weather patterns for some time."


	9. Chapter 9

**The weather has gone weird. Is it a natural phenomenon or is something more sinister at work ? Extreme weather.**

"_Mr. Storm, Sir," said Tom. "Have you noticed all the weird weather we've been having lately ? Do you think it might be symptomatic of global warming. You know, affecting the weather patterns and making it more extreme ?" he asked, looking up at the taller man._

"_Well, I do have a theory about that Tom," said the man, obviously pleased to have the opportunity to speak to an appreciative audience. "I've been interested in extreme weather patterns for some time."_

They were led down to what looked like a large control room, with many screens, switches, dials and control panels. "This is the centre of our operations here," explained Mr. Storm waving his arms around the room. A few park rangers looked up surprised at the boys coming into the room. "Sit down there," he ordered Dan, pointing to a chair. Dan frowned, looking as if he were getting tired of being bossed around. Mr. Storm squeezed Tom's shoulders with his arm, and Dan reluctantly did as he'd been told. Two rangers stood at his shoulders.

"We have to be careful because there are shadowy forces at work across the globe Tom. Forces who seek to hide the true nature of our changing climate. Forces who want to protect the industrial might which is surely destroying the environment we depend upon for our survival," said Mr. Storm, his voice steadily rising and becoming more angry. Tom realised that the man was paranoid. "These forces are constantly trying to gain entry to our secrets and destroy them !" shouted the man, staring angrily at Dan. Dan shifted nervously in his chair. "People like this !" he shouted, pointing at Dan.

"What ?" asked Tom. "But, this is Dan. He's just a schoolkid !" he said, laughing.

"Your friend is not what he seems," said Mr. Storm. "We found these," he said, sweeping his hand at a table covered with Dan's various spy gadgets. There was a spy-pod, his phone, the crushed earpiece and a broken microphone. Tom stared at them curiously, then he turned and stared at Dan, looking puzzled.

"I don't get it," he said.

"Never mind Tom. We have all been deceived !" shouted Mr. Storm. His manner was becoming steadily more erratic. Tom was starting to wonder if he was merely paranoid. "When I began my research I believed that we could control the weather. We can make any weather we want. And do you know what they said ?" he shouted, rounding on Dan.

"Oh I'm going out on a limb here. Let's just make a wild guess. They said you were crazy ?" asked Dan, sarcastically. Tom knew that Dan was being pushed to his limit, but he held his breath at what Dan had just said. He was right to be wary. The furious Storm, lunged at Dan, grabbing his throat in both his hands and squeezing. Dan made a choking noise and reached up to try to throw the man off. The two rangers grabbed his arms to stop him. A terrified Tom watched helplessly as his friend was being slowly choked unconscious.

"Stop ! Stop it !" Tom screamed. "You're killing him ! Please !" he begged, genuine tears in his eyes.

Storm looked around in surprise and appeared to calm momentarily. He let go of Dan's throat, who collapsed back into the chair, his chest heaving for breath with unfocussed eyes, just barely conscious. The man looked at Tom, who was standing shaking with tears now rolling down his cheeks. "Tom, we have to be strong if we are defeat the forces of evil. I will show this unbeliever the force of nature. He will see for himself the true face of the weather !"

The two rangers looked at one another. "The other students are still in the field," said one of the rangers. "Will they be safe ?" he asked.

"Safe ? Of course they won't be safe. None of us are safe. The very nature of the planet is changing !" exclaimed Storm. The two men glanced at one another, but lifted the still panting Dan's arms back to tie them. Then one took a small metal cylinder out of a cupboard and carried it out through a heavy door into a large stone yard with a central, circular stone area surrounded by metal grilles in the ground, and placed it on a low stone plinth.

When he returned, Mr. Storm set a series of controls before grabbing a large red handle and lifting it up. The first thing Tom heard was the heavy metal door clicking bolts shut. "We are protected by heavy shielding in this room. We are quite safe," said Storm, smiling benignly. Tom looked out of the window in horror. Would Zoe and Aneisha and the others be safe ?

Next Tom felt a vibration running up through the floor. A loud humming noise seemed to be coming from the ground itself. The next thing he saw was a misty substance rising up through the grilles in the ground in the yard outside. The misty stuff started to swirl around, steadily spinning faster and faster. As it spun Tom noticed that leaves lying on the ground in the yard were starting to lift up into the air and spin around too. Tom's mouth was dry. He didn't know what to do. He felt helpless. The next thing, the spinning wind took on a form of its own, made of leaves and dust. It was a miniature tornado. Waves of light started spilling out from the tornado, rippling across the yard. The waves seemed to hit the huge glass window in front of them and bounce off. Storm stood at the window with a satisfied smirk on his face. Lightning crackled across the tornado as it took off across the yard and out of the entrance at the back.

Zoe and Aneisha had been watching the house closely when Zoe spotted Mr. Flatley approaching with the ranger and the group from the woodlands, with the exception of Dan and Tom of course. "All right everybody, it's time to pack up your things !" shouted Mr. Flatley. Zoe and Aneisha hastily packed their binoculars away in their backpacks, made a few last marks on their worksheets and then headed for their head teacher. As all the teens gathered together the ranger started collecting their worksheets, thanking them for their efforts.

"Can you feel that ?" asked Roly. "It feels like a mini earthquake or something," he added, looking uneasy. Everyone stopped what they were doing. They could all feel the ground vibrating beneath their feet. Next they heard a strange throbbing noise.

"Oh my God !" said the horrified ranger. He spun round and stared at the house, as a sort of dark column came out between the walls at the back of the house.

"What's that ?" asked Byron.

"My goodness ! It looks like a tornado !" said Mr. Flatley, looking astounded.

The spinning column got closer. It was gathering soil, grass and leaves as it got closer. It seemed to be getting bigger and they could now hear it roaring. Flashes of lightning cracked across and out from the spinning maelstrom.

"What do we do ?" asked Aneisha.

"Run !" shouted the ranger. He started running and realised that the group were not with him. "For God's sake, run !" he yelled. "Follow me !" he shouted, running back towards the farm buildings where they had first met.

The teens and their teacher took one more look at the approaching tornado and then started racing after the ranger. "Let me through. ! Let me through !" shouted Mr. Flatley.

"Nobody is stopping you Mr. Flatley !" shouted Aneisha.

"Oh, you're right," agreed Mr. Flatley, obviously in a flat panic. As the least fit member of the group, he was in any case falling behind steadily.

The tornado was getting closer and closer. They could feel the wind spilling off the sides of the spinning giant. Leaves and debris were flying through the air around them. "Get inside !" screamed the ranger above the noise. Frank was standing beside the minibus, looking puzzled. Then he saw the approaching tornado and his mouth sagged open. The ranger ran for the house, hastily unlocked the door and yelled at everybody to get inside. Frank followed the teens inside. Mr. Flatley arrived last. They hauled him inside and slammed the door shut. The ranger locked it from the inside. "Get right inside the building. Stay away from the windows !" he shouted.

They all did as they were told, and suddenly the tornado was on them. Most of them were in a central hallway which had no windows. They heard windows smashing around the house and a fierce wind blew all around them tossing pieces of paper into the air. They could hear tiles sliding off the roof and smashing on the ground outside. They all crouched together on the floor, hanging on to each other. Some people screamed, but most just held on to their friends, hoping and praying that they would get out of this alive.


	10. Chapter 10

**The weather has gone weird. Is it a natural phenomenon or is something more sinister at work ? Mad men and survival.**

_They heard windows smashing around the house and a fierce wind blew all around them tossing pieces of paper into the air. They could hear tiles sliding off the roof and smashing on the ground outside. They all crouched together on the floor, hanging on to each other. Some people screamed, but most just held on to their friends, hoping and praying that they would get out of this._

Tom watched in horror as the miniature tornado swept out of the enclosure at the rear of the mansion. "That could kill someone !" he gasped.

"Do you have any idea what the consequences of massive climate change would be on the human race ?" demanded Storm. "Our species has multiplied across the globe. Any significant change in climate would be devastating. It could possibly wipe the human race off the planet altogether," he shouted. As he became more excited, his eyes widened and he started spitting as he spoke. Tom was starting to wonder if the man was entirely in control. He seemed to be getting increasingly manic.

At this point, another staff member stuck his head round the door to the control room. "Mr. Storm Sir, there's someone at the gate, saying that two boys have been reported missing from the school group. They're demanding to come in. What do you want us to do ?" he asked.

Storm looked irritated. He glanced between Dan and Tom before pointing to Tom and saying, "Oh, take this boy and get him to speak to them." He turned to Tom, "Tell them we're showing you both around the house. You'll be back with the school group shortly," he instructed Tom. "If you are not sufficiently convincing, the consequences for your friend here will be severe," he warned. Tom nodded and followed two of the rangers out of the room after one backward glance at Dan who now had two red thumb marks on his throat.

When Tom reached the front door, a police car had drawn up at the front of the house. Two police officers got out. Tom did a double-take when he realised one of them was Stella. They walked up to the front of the house and the ranger reluctantly let them in the front door. Glancing around the hallway Stella looked at Tom. "Are you Thomas or Daniel ?" she asked.

"I'm Tom," said Tom. "Dan's just at the back," he said. "We were being shown round the house by Mr. Storm's people," he said. "I'm sorry if Mr. Flatley got worried about us," he added.

"Daniel is here also ?" checked Stella. Tom noticed out of the corner of his eye that while Stella had the attention of the rangers, the other officer was drifting towards the security console near the door and was surreptitiously placing a small black device on its side.

"Yes, he's here. We're both fine. Sorry about the trouble," said Tom apologetically.

"Oh well. No harm done. Could we see Daniel as well ?" asked Stella.

"No ! I mean, he's a bit busy. He's fine. We'll both be going back to the group in a short while," said Tom rather quickly.

"I see," said Stella, obviously picking up on the implications of what Tom had said. "Well, we'll let you get back to your studies. Thankyou for your cooperation gentlemen," she said to the rangers, who were looking relieved. They obviously weren't much good at acting. Stella and the other officer left the building and got back into their police car. Tom watched them go rather forlornly. He had half hoped that a whole commando team would be hiding in the back of the police car and would leap out to rescue both him and Dan. He knew in his heart of hearts that this would be a mistake while Dan was effectively being held hostage. When the door had closed on Stella, he was led back through the house.

Once Tom was taken from the room, Storm stood in front of Dan, staring down at him with contempt. "So, do you now believe that I can control the weather ?" he demanded.

Dan tried to speak, but his voice was croaky. He coughed and hoarsely said, "You can control local weather conditions. That's pretty obvious," he said. "What is that thing ?" he asked, nodding towards the outside area.

In spite of his obvious dislike of Dan, Storm couldn't resist boasting about his abilities. "This is the machine I proposed years ago. Nobody was interested. Nobody would provide funding. I did however convince a wealthy American recluse who left all of his fortune to me in his will. I was able to devote time and money to its development and purchase this site to test it safely."

Dan snorted. "You call that safe ! Me and a friend nearly got killed by a tree in the gale yesterday. It only just missed us."

"I don't believe you," hissed Storm. "You and your kind are all liars !"

"Yeah, well have a look at my back if you don't believe me," retorted Dan, coughing dryly.

Storm looked across at the only ranger left in the room. "Lift his shirt," he ordered. The ranger pulled Dan up out of the chair and lifted his hoodie and sweatshirt. On his back was the long black and purple bruise left by the tree branch. "Hm," said Storm, sounding slightly less sure of himself. The ranger dropped Dan's shirt.

"You don't know the effects of your experiments," Dan accused him. "If you just sit comfortably in your big estate you won't know what happens outside. You've just sent a tornado through the grounds where our friends are for goodness sake !" he complained. "You could have killed someone." He didn't have to feign distress at this point. He was genuinely worried about Zoe, Aneisha, Frank and all the others.

"Hm," said Storm. Dan waited for him to say more, but he remained silent. "Tie him to the chair," instructed Storm. "We'll have to decide what to do with him later."

"We can't keep him here forever," said the ranger tentatively as he tied Dan's arms and ankles to the chair. "His organisation will be expecting him to report in."

"Yes, you are right," said Storm thoughtfully. "What organisation do you work for ?" he asked Dan. Dan remained silent. "Tie him more thoroughly. He probably knows how to escape from these sorts of things," he said, waving his hands vaguely. The ranger scratched his head and then fetched more rope before tying Dan's waist and the tops of his legs to the chair as well. Dan was starting to feel like a trussed chicken. Not even KORPS would bother to tie him up this thoroughly. He suspected that Storm had been watching way too many spy films.

The school group cowered in the shelter of the farm buildings unable to speak because of the thunderous noise being made by the tornado. Then as suddenly as it had come, it was gone. As everyone started to lift their heads and look around them, they could hear the roar travelling away from them, accompanied by the creaking and crashing of trees. The building stank of grass and leaves. A few more tiles slid off the roof above their heads.

"Everyone stay where you are for a minute !" ordered Frank. He had abandoned his caretaker persona with the need for leadership of this group. He knew that Mr. Flatley would be in no state to take charge. Then again, it was debatable whether Mr. Flatley ever was capable of being in charge. He and the ranger got up and stood just inside the door, trying to assess whether or not it was safe to exit the building. "I can't hear any more tiles coming down," said Frank. The ranger nodded. "Do you know where that tornado came from ?" asked Frank quietly. The ranger looked at his feet, then looking Frank in the face nodded.

"You're not a school teacher are you ?" asked the ranger quietly. Frank shook his head. "It's Mr. Storm. He's been experimenting with trying to control the weather," said the ranger. He paused and sucked his teeth. He seemed to be struggling to make up his mind. "The thing is, I think it's affected him," said the ranger. Frank had to lean in to hear him because he was speaking so quietly. "I've heard the others talking about how he creates this sort of field from some machine under the ground. Nobody's allowed to walk into it now, but I think Mr. Storm had been out in it quite a lot before he found out it was dangerous. He's become quite odd. He was quite a decent bloke before. Now he seems really paranoid. He sees conspiracies against him everywhere. He hates all authority figures and anyone he thinks is working for the government," said the man. "I think you need to stop all this before it gets out of control," he added.

Frank looked worried. "I've got two agents in the house. He knows one of them is an agent, but he thinks the other one is just one of the students," he said. "They're in danger. I've got to get them out ! Can you help ?" he asked.

The ranger took a deep breath and then nodded. "I'll try," he promised.


	11. Chapter 11

**The weather has gone weird. Is it a natural phenomenon or is something more sinister at work ? Search and rescue.**

_Frank looked worried. "I've got two agents in the house. He knows one of them is an agent, but he thinks the other one is just one of the students," he said. "They're in danger. I've got to get them out ! Can you help ?" he asked. _

_The ranger took a deep breath and then nodded. "I'll try," he promised._

Frank spoke to the class of shaken students. "All right. I want Aneisha and Zoe to come with me to the house. We're going to contact the police. The rest of you I want to stay with Mr. Flatley. If the minibus is safe, you can wait in there. The police may come to contact you before we go home," he was about to hand the keys into the hands of a shaking Mr. Flatley, but then had second thoughts and handed them to Melissa. "Melissa, can you please get everyone into the minibus ?" he asked. She smiled and nodded.

"Come on everyone. Let's get a comfy seat in the minibus," Melissa said. "We can eat our packed lunches in there." This got everyone's attention and they all filed out after her, including Mr. Flatley.

Frank let the ranger guide himself, Zoe and Aneisha up to the main house. The meadow looked like a mad tractor driver had thrashed his way through the field, ploughing up everything in sight. A winding band of meadow turf had been stripped revealing bare soil. Where the stone walls had been hit, there were only holes, surrounded by random stones and bits of fencing. "How long will the tornado last ?" asked Aniesha.

The ranger shrugged his shoulders. "Mr. Storm doesn't include us in his plans any more," he said. "He only trusts a couple of the rangers now. He's really paranoid. I think it must be the effects of the experimental field he uses to control the weather," he said sadly. "He never used to be like this, honestly. He was a really good guy and he really cared about the planet and the people who lived on it," the man assured them. "I think he needs help now."

The ranger took them to a side door into the house. He looked around and quickly slid a passcard through a card reader on the side of the door. They all slipped inside. Zoe and Aneisha had their backpacks with them. Frank used his spy-pod to detect for people nearby. "The control room for the weather machine is at the back of the house on the floor above this one," explained the ranger. "It's probably best if you're not found with me. I'll head off. Good luck," he said before walking quickly up the corridor and going through a door at the end.

Frank looked at the other two. "I think we should stick together," he said. "Come on." He led them down the corridor until they came to some stairs. They carefully climbed, coming out on a carpeted corridor above. Then they heard a familiar voice and slipped into an alcove.

"Look, I did what you said. When are you going to let us go ?" asked Tom.

"When the boss says you can go," said the ranger accompanying him.

After a few seconds, Tom passed the alcove. As the ranger passed, he would have been seen suddenly disappearing from sight. "Tom !" hissed a voice.

Tom turned round looking puzzled. He was shocked to find himself alone. He walked back to the alcove and grinned when he saw Frank tying an unconscious ranger's hands. "I think there are some storage rooms along here," he said, dashing quickly along the corridor and pulling a door open. Behind it was a small room piled high with boxes. Frank and Aneisha hauled the man's body into the cupboard before shutting the door. "Boy am I glad to see you," said Tom pulling Aneisha into a quick hug. She grinned at him and he blushed and let her go. "Oh, we've got to rescue Dan. Storm's got him tied to a chair in the control room."

"Show us the way Tom," said Frank. Tom started to lead them in the direction he had been travelling when they had released him. As he neared the door to the control room, it opened and a ranger came out. He saw the team and shouted a warning to the control room. They saw Storm come to the door. His face shifted into fury.

Storm slammed his hand on to a large red button on the control room wall. "Intruder Alert !" shouted a loud voice. "Intruder Alert. Security lockdown. Security lockdown !" blared out from speakers all around the house. Immediately the door to the control room automatically slammed shut and could be heard locking. The ranger looked around startled and then turned to face the MI9 agents. He pulled out a radio and started shouting into it.

"Intruders on corridor five. Entrance to the control room. All rangers converge on my position !" he ordered. Frank huffed. They couldn't get into the control room. If they stayed in this corridor they would be trapped.

"This way !" he ordered, turning back the way they had come.

The team ran back up the corridor, but before they reached the end, heard footsteps running towards them. "Stella, now would be a good time !" murmured Frank under his breath. A group of rangers ran at them. Zoe and Aneisha dropped into fighting poses and started kicking and punching off their attackers. Frank turned and hit the ranger who had followed them and was trying to grab Tom. Tom spun between the two fighting groups, unsure what to do. In the end he joined with Zoe and Aneisha, making what hits he could to help them.

"Stop, or he gets it !" shouted a voice behind them. Tom looked back and saw to his horror that the ranger had grabbed Frank around the neck and was holding a stun gun of some sort against Frank's head.

"Guys ! Stop !" called Tom. Zoe and Aneisha turned to look and stopped fighting. The ranger nodded at them and they all put their hands on their heads.

"Sorry team," gasped Frank hoarsely. Their gear was confiscated and the four agents were propelled through the house to the large, luxurious room where Tom had first met Storm. They were each made to sit on a dining chair with their hands tied behind their backs. After a time, Sinstra Storm entered the room.

"So, more spies !" he hissed angrily. "You are all determined to stop my work !"

"Actually, we just want to rescue our friend," said Zoe. "You're holding him prisoner."

"The other spy !" hissed Storm. "You are all my prisoners. Nobody can stop me now !" he shouted. "You, stay with them !" he ordered one of the rangers. "The rest of you, come with me. We must make preparations. Our enemies will stop at nothing to end our work. Come !" he ordered, leaving the room.

The last ranger to leave the room turned to the remaining one. "Do you think one of us should stay with you mate ? They might try to escape," he warned.

The big man who had been left behind glanced disdainfully at Zoe and snorted in derision. "Yeah, like that's going to happen. They're nearly all kids ! Get going before Storm finds you missing !" he laughed. Sighing, the other man left the room. As the door clicked shut, the ranger turned back to the group of agents with a smirk on his face. There was an empty chair where Zoe had been sitting. "What ?" he squeaked, twisting round to try and find her. He turned again to find Zoe looking up at him with a smile on her face.

"Looking for me ?" she asked, before slamming her foot into his chest. The big man flew backwards. He looked up in time to find Zoe's fist slamming into his face. It was the last thing he saw before falling unconscious. "That's for Dan," she muttered.

Zoe helped the others to free themselves and Frank grabbed his phone from the table. "Stella, hurry !" said Frank urgently. "Storm's making preparations to defend himself I think. You are ? Great, see you soon !" he said, closing the call. "There's a SWAT team on its way. Good work Zoe," he said, before helping Aneisha to pull the guard on to a chair and tie his hands.

Frank glanced out into the corridor. There was nobody on guard outside the door. He waved the others forward. "We need to let the SWAT team in," he said. As they reached the top of the stairs, there was a bang and the big front door softly swung open. Smoke was pouring from the security control panel by the front door. Tom smiled to himself. Stella had come up trumps again.

A few rangers ran through the hallway, but were all immediately overwhelmed by a large MI9 team in full SWAT gear. The rangers were all lined up on one side of the hallway. One of them was the man who had helped Frank and the others, who were racing down the stairs to meet the team. "Stella, you're just in time, as usual," said Frank, grinning gratefully at her. She smiled back at him.

"Where's Storm ?" she asked.

The ranger who had helped before stepped forward. "He'll be in the control room at the back of the building. You need to be careful. I think he's been planning something. The way things have been going around here, it's bound to be dangerous," said the ranger.

"You double-crossing scum !" shouted one of the other rangers. "We're supposed to be saving the planet here !" he yelled.

"Are you stupid ?" responded the first man. "You've seen what Storm's been doing lately. He sent a tornado out into a field full of teenagers for God's sake ! How's that going to save anything. The man's been changed by that weird field thing. He's not the same. Tell me you think he's still sane," he challenged the other rangers. They all shifted uncomfortably and started to look worried.

"He has got a bit unstable," admitted one of the other men. "He's shut himself in the control room. You'll have to get him out of there and turn the thing off."


	12. Chapter 12

**The weather has gone weird. Is it a natural phenomenon or is something more sinister at work ? When the weather is good, it's very very good. But when it is bad it's horrid !**

"_Are you stupid ?" responded the first man. "You've seen what Storm's been doing lately. He sent a tornado out into a field full of teenagers for God's sake ! How's that going to save anything. The man's been changed by that weird field thing. He's not the same. Tell me you think he's still sane," he challenged the other rangers. They all shifted uncomfortably and started to look worried._

"_He has got a bit unstable," admitted one of the other men. "He's shut himself in the control room. You'll have to get him out of there and turn the thing off."_

"Control room ?" asked Stella.

"Back of the house on this floor," said Tom, pointing to an entrance into the hall. "Down a couple of corridors in that direction. It controls a large courtyard at the rear of the property where the weather machine is. It's underground and the stuff sort of comes up through these big metal grilles in the ground," he explained, as best he could. It all sounded so crazy. "If you see a funny wavy field coming up you musn't go in it. Apparently it makes people go a bit crazy. That's probably what's happened to Mr. Storm. He's not rational," he finally warned.

"Right. Tom, I need you to take us there," said Stella. She selected a group of the SWAT team to go with her. Then she gave instructions on her radio for a team to make an attack on the rear of the house, passing on Tom's warning about the weather field. "I repeat, on no account enter the area if the weather field is in operation," she finished.

Tom walked beside Stella, leading the team towards the control room. He was worried about Dan. Dan was locked in the control room with the furious and unstable Storm and Dan wasn't famous for his tact and diplomacy. As they neared the control room door, a face appeared at the glass window in the heavily armoured door. Tom didn't recognise Sinstra Storm at first. His face was distorted with fury, and what looked alarmingly like madness. His eyes were opened wide and he had a strange snarling grin on his face.

"Oh God. What's he going to do ?" murmured Tom. Stella glanced at him with a frown on her face. She waved on the team. As they neared the door, they heard a deep rumbling beneath their feet. The team stopped and looked at one anther. "I've heard that sound before," said Tom, his voice filled with dread. "Look !" he whispered, pointing at the floor of the corridor ahead. Where the carpet ended there was a metal grille set, unnoticed, into the floor. Out of the grille rose a swirling misty substance.

"Is that … ?" asked Stella.

"Yes. Yes it is," whispered Tom. "Run !" he shouted, turning back. He barrelled through the stunned SWAT team, heading back through the corridor. He paused when he realised they weren't following him. "Get out of here. You have no idea !" yelled Tom. They saw the look of fright on his face and turned back to face the control room door. The field was growing in strength and they could now feel waves of air blowing into their faces. A roaring noise was building, like that of a strong wind.

"Move !" shouted Stella. The team turned and started to run after Tom. They were not quite in time. Before they reached the end of the corridor, a blast of air slammed into them, throwing most of them off their feet, and leaving people rolling along the corridor. One of the SWAT team was thrown down the stairs which Frank and the others had used to climb up from the basement entrance. Pictures were being torn off the walls. Curtains were streaming out beside window frames. The noise was deafening.

Tom found himself pressed against the wall at the corner of the corridor. Stella smacked into the wall beside him. Luckily her helmet protected her from serious injury. They both had to roll to avoid being hit by other team members being thrown helplessly down the passage. They all crawled along the next corridor and sighed with relief once they were out of the main thrust of the wind.

The agents who were unhurt helped their injured colleagues to their feet and they made their way back to the hallway. Frank and the other anxious agents met them. "What happened ?" asked Frank. "We heard a strange noise," he said.

"Storm's got a miniature weather machine in the floor outside the control room door," explained Tom. "He's now blasting a hurricane down the corridor. There's no way anyone is going to be able to get up there," he said.

"That metal grille outside the door ?" asked one of the rangers.

"Yes, that's right," said Tom. "Why ?"

"There's more of those. They're all over the house," said the man. He looked scared. The other rangers started to mutter. "Does anyone know about them ?" asked the man. The others shook their heads.

"Before my time," said one man. Others nodded in agreement. "Sorry," he said apologetically.

Stella touched her earpiece. "What ? As well ? All right. Stay in position so long as it's safe to do so," she instructed.

She turned to Frank. "The team at the back of the house can't get close. There's a weather field building in the back courtyard. They got a glimpse of Storm in the control room. They think Dan is tied to a chair in the control room," she told him.

Frank turned to the rangers. "Is there any other way to get into that control room ?" he asked.

The rangers all looked at one another, then shook their heads. "I'm really sorry. He obviously didn't trust us either," said one man apologetically. "Honestly, if we knew a way we'd tell you. The guy's obviously gone off his rocker. You might be able to get to it through the kitchen wall, if you can knock a hole in it." he added.

"Can you show us ?" asked Stella. "We've got some explosives."

The ranger took them through the house, along a different route, to the kitchen. He pointed to the shorter wall at the far end of the room. "That should lead through to the control room," he said.

Frank helped one of the SWAT team set some explosives into the wall in a circle. "I'm not putting too much Stella. I don't want to risk bringing the wall down on top of Dan," he explained. Stella nodded her agreement, giving him an encouraging smile. Everyone took cover behind some kitchen benches at the end of the room. "3, 2, 1 .." Frank counted down, before there was a loud, muffled thud and a cloud of plaster dust burst out of the wall. A hole was blown through the wall. Frank got a very brief glimpse of a dusty Dan lying on the floor on a toppled chair through a fairly small hole. His heart sank when he realised that Dan wasn't moving. Then the enraged face of Storm appeared.

"You will pay !" screamed the man. He ran to one side and disappeared. As the SWAT team picked up their weapons, the floor of the kitchen started vibrating and the now familiar misty swirl started to rise from grilles set in the floor. The air started to move around them. Pots and pans hanging from hooks on the wall started to rattle. Zoe made as if to run towards the hole, but Frank grabbed her arm.

"No, Zoe. You can't get through the field. It's not safe," shouted Frank above the rising clatter of pans.

"Everyone out !" shouted Stella. A large black cloud was gathering above their heads. Kitchen equipment was starting to break loose and fly around the room. They all ran for the door, holding their hands over their heads to protect themselves from the flying debris. The howling wind seemed to follow them out of the kitchen and into the corridor. They all started running back towards the entrance hall.

Back in the entrance hall, Frank looked helpless. "We'll think of something Frank," said Stella. "Tom ?" she asked him hopefully.

Tom frowned. "What's that noise ?" he asked. Everyone looked around them. The house seemed to be filling with noise; a roaring and crackling. Before anyone had a chance to react, a gale of wind burst out into the hallway, ripping pictures off the wall and making doors slam shut or open. It was followed by torrential rain.

"It's raining !" shouted Aneisha in disbelief. "We're indoors ! How is that possible ?"

A large stone statue at the bottom of the stairs suddenly toppled over and smashed into pieces on the floor. "We can't stay in here !" shouted Stella, trying to protect her eyes from the lashing rain. Lightning flashed across the stairs, accompanied by a loud crash of thunder, which made everyone dive for the floor. "Everyone out !" shouted Stella. "Now !"

"But what about Dan ?" shouted Zoe in despair. "He's still in there !"

Frank grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door with everyone else. "He's safer in the control room for now Zoe. Don't worry. We'll think of something," he tried to reassure her.

Once everyone was standing outside on the gravel driveway in front of the house, there was a silence. "Tom, if you can think of anything. Anything at all," said Frank desperately.

"There's no way any human being is going to be able to get near that control room," said Tom. Then he paused, with his mouth still open. He looked up at Aneisha. Aneisha smiled back at him. "Digby !" they both said, simultaneously.


	13. Chapter 13

**The weather has gone weird. Is it a natural phenomenon or is something more sinister at work ? Calling in the cavalry. Thanks to all my reviewers. It's great to know if people enjoy the stories. It's nearly over now.**

"_There's no way any human being is going to be able to get up that corridor," said Tom. Then he paused, with his mouth still open. He looked up at Aneisha. Aneisha smiled back at him. "Digby !" they both said, simultaneously._

"Who's Digby ?" asked Zoe.

"Nate's robot," said Aneisha. "You know the one that carried Dan out of Nate's old house after he kidnapped him ?"

"Oh yes. I remember !" said Zoe. "Do you think the robot could get in ?" she asked Tom.

"Well, it's our best chance," said Tom. "I can't think of anything else." He looked at Frank and Stella.

"Give Nate a call and ask," said Stella. "It sounds like our best option. The robot won't be affected by the weather field and I assume it's strong ?" she asked. Tom and Aneisha nodded hard. Tom pulled out his phone and dialled Nate's number.

"Nate ? It's Tom. I need a big favour mate. This is important OK ?" He went on to explain about Dan being trapped with a madman in a locked room and how nobody could get past the weather fields because they affected peoples' minds. "You will ? Thanks Nate, you're a star ! We'll send a lorry to bring Digby here. OK. Bye," he finished.

"Nate's agreed to lend us Digby," he said smiling.

Stella got on to her phone and arranged transport for the robot. Storm clouds were gathering over the house and it was starting to rain heavily when a lorry drove up the driveway towards them. An MI9 agent was driving the lorry. Sitting in the passenger seat was Nate. Tom ran over to the lorry and pulled the door open. "Nate ! I didn't think you'd come too," shouted Tom above the noise of the rain. Nate used a wheelchair to get around, but Tom guessed Digby had got him up into the lorry's passenger seat.

"I decided to come too," said Nate. "I need to tell Digby what to do," he explained. "It's raining. You're all wet," he added.

"It's the weather machine," explained Aneisha from behind Tom.

"Hi Aneisha," said Nate. He saw Zoe standing behind Aneisha. "You're Zoe aren't you ?" he asked her. She nodded. "Dan likes you doesn't he ?" he asked. Zoe smiled sheepishly and nodded. She remembered how Nate tended to ask embarrassing questions. It made her smile in spite of her concern for Dan's safety. She could imagine how Dan would behave if he were here now. He really hated being asked personal questions.

There was a whirring of motors and hissing of hydraulics as Digby stepped down from the back of the lorry. Everyone stood back so that the large robot could step his large rectangular feet round to Nate's position in the cab. "Digby, are you ready ?" asked Nate.

"Digby is ready," said the robot's voice.

"I want you to do what Tom tells you to do and then come back here," instructed Nate.

The robot turned to face Tom. "Digby is ready," said Digby.

"OK. This is what I want you to do Digby," began Tom. He instructed the robot to find its way through the house to the entrance to the control room, force its way in, turn off all of the weather machines and rescue Dan. "You have to be careful about Mr. Storm. He is the other person in the room and he is dangerous," warned Tom. "He might try to hurt Dan too," he added. "Do you understand all of that ?" he asked.

"Digby understands," said the robot.

Nate held out a control device with a screen that he had in his hand. "You can use this to answer questions and see what Digby sees. Digby asks questions if he doesn't know what to do," explained Nate. Tom thanked him and took the control device.

"Go now Digby," said Tom. "Good luck," he added.

The robot slowly climbed the steps into the building entrance. All of the SWAT team and rangers parted to let the large robot walk past. Nobody had ever seen anything like it. Tom pulled up a screen on the control device which allowed him to see what Digby could see through his camera eyes. "This is amazing Nate," said Tom. "He's got stereoscopic vision !"

"Yes. He needs to be able to judge distances," said Nate, matter of factly.

The robot found the right corridor, dodging lightning bolts shooting across the hallway. He trudged slowly along the corridor and turned the corner into the corridor with the gale. He walked into the gale without any apparent difficulty. As he neared the weather field at the end, Tom wondered if the robot would be affected by the field after all. Although the robot's vision blurred and fizzed as he crossed the field, he appeared to survive. "Digby's at the control room door," reported Tom. Zoe and Aneisha crowded up to his shoulders to see what was going on. The robot held out an arm and tried to turn the door handle. It wouldn't budge. "Open the door Digby," ordered Tom into the controller. He watched as the robot reached out both arms, grasped the door and pulled it off its hinges, as if it were a piece of light cardboard. The robot leaned the door against the wall and stepped through.

Tom gasped as the robot looked around the control room. He could see the smallish hole blasted in the wall at the other end of the room. Dan was lying on the floor, still tied to a chair. Worst of all, he could see swirls of the weather field sweeping around the room. Dan was going to be affected by the fields. A terrified Storm was running around the room, pushing levers up all over the place. "Turn on the audio !" shouted Nate from the lorry. Tom pushed a button and then they could all hear Storm's screams.

"Robots ! Spies ! Will you stop at nothing ?" he yelled. Suddenly the man ran past Digby. Digby turned in time to see the scientist slamming his hand against a large red button beside the door on to the courtyard. 'Emergency Door Override' read the sign next to the door. The door swished open and the crazy scientist pulled it open and ran out into the courtyard, seemingly oblivious to the dangers of the weather fields. "You can't stop me !" he screamed. "You can't, you can't !" and he started to dance around in the swirling wind outside. Tom noticed that some of the field was now sweeping in through the open door.

"Digby, you need to push down all of the red handles," instructed Tom. "Every one in the room." He watched as the robot started to search around the walls for the handles. His arm reached out and one at a time he pulled them down. Stella motioned for some of the SWAT team to go up to the entrance to monitor what was happening inside the house.

"The hallway is clear now !" shouted one of the SWAT team. "We can go in !"

Stella took a call over her earpiece. "The team at the back say that the field is down, but Storm is still dancing around like a lunatic shouting and laughing," she said.

"Well done Digby," said Tom. "You've turned off all the handles. Can you now free Dan from the chair and carry him out please ?" he asked.

The robot turned and they had a clear view of Dan lying on the floor. The robot reached out and assessed the ropes tying Dan. Then a small circular cutter came out of his hands and very carefully cut through all of the ropes so that Dan slid on to the floor. They watched the robot pick up Dan gently in his arms and start to carry him towards the door.

"He could go out of the back door," Zoe whispered in Tom's ear.

"Storm's out there," said Tom. "I think it's better this way," he added. The others nodded.

Shortly Digby appeared at the entrance door, cradling Dan's unconscious body in his arms. Everyone started applauding as the robot carried him carefully down the stairs. Two ambulances had arrived while they were waiting and paramedics rolled a stretcher out to meet the robot, who placed Dan unbelievably gently down. As they all craned to look, they could see a small trickle of blood running down Dan's forehead and there were the two red thumb prints on his throat. Otherwise, he looked relatively unharmed. Tom hoped that the weather fields hadn't messed with Dan's mind.

"Well done Digby ! You were great," said Tom. It felt strange talking to a robot like it was a real person, but the robot was so like a person, he couldn't help himself. "You've done everything now Digby. You can go back to Nate," instructed Tom. He and the robot walked over to the lorry and Tom handed the remote back to Nate. "He did it Nate," said Tom. "He was brilliant. Thankyou so much," he added.

"That's OK," said Nate. "Is Dan all right. Is he mad ?" he asked.

Tom stiffened at the insensitive question, then reminding himself that Nate didn't know any better. "I don't know yet Nate. We'll have to wait and see what the doctors say when he wakes up," said Tom.

The rain was slowly easing off now and the clouds in the sky were clearing. "Get in the lorry Digby. We're going home," said Nate. The robot turned and did as it was told, climbing carefully into the back of the lorry. The driver closed the door, got in the cab and drove the lorry away. Nate waved from the window.

"Oh Frank, all the students are still sitting in the minibus," said Aneisha, suddenly remembering.

"Good point. Right, you three with me !" ordered Frank. "We'll take everyone back to school. He held up his hands as the others started complaining. "We'll go and see Dan afterwards OK ? He needs medical attention first," he said. With that, they all started trooping off back to the farm buildings to collect the rest of their school group. The injured SWAT team members were loaded into the ambulances, along with Dan and were taken away. Stella and the rest of her team started the clear-up operation at the mansion.


	14. Chapter 14

**The weather has gone weird. Is it a natural phenomenon or is something more sinister at work ? Who are you calling crazy ?**

"_Oh Frank, all the students are still sitting in the minibus," said Aneisha, suddenly remembering._

"_Good point. Right, you three with me !" ordered Frank. "We'll take everyone back to school. He held up his hands as the others started complaining. "We'll go and see Dan afterwards OK ? He needs medical attention first," he said. With that, they all started trooping off back to the farm buildings to collect the rest of their school group. The injured SWAT team members were loaded into the ambulances, along with Dan and were taken away. Stella and the rest of her team started the clear-up operation at the mansion._

Frank drove the chattering students back to school. Their talk was all about the tornado. Once they realised Dan was missing, they became concerned. "Dan got hit by some flying debris from the tornado," Aneisha told them. "It's knocked him out."

"Rotten luck !" commented Roly. "That kid's so accident prone," he added. Zoe and Aneisha looked at one another and couldn't help giggling. Zoe had been tense for so long, the totally inappropriate comment let it all burst out. Tom glowered at them.

"It's not his fault !" he hissed.

Aneisha reached out and touched his arm. "We know Tom. We care too," she said softly. "Don't feel bad. It's not your fault either," she added, guessing why he was upset. "It could have been any one of us. Dan was just unlucky." Tom relaxed and gave her a faint smile. Aneisha always guessed what was on his mind.

After school they badgered Frank to take them to see Dan. They arrived in time to find Dan unconscious, being wheeled out of a hospital room, followed by a small stream of nurses and one security man. "What happened ?" asked Frank.

"Ah, are you Agent London ?" asked a flustered looking doctor. Frank nodded and the man stopped to speak to them while Dan was being wheeled away down the corridor.

"Yes, well Agent Morgan regained consciousness and became very distressed. He was clearly very, erm, confused and began fighting with the medical staff. It took quite a few of us to restrain him," said the man, glancing at the staff who were now dispersing around the medical unit. "We're taking him for an MRI scan to try and work out what is causing the problem. I'm afraid we had to sedate him," he said apologetically.

This news left the group subdued. "Oh no !" whispered Tom. He was the only one who had seen Sinstra Storm's erratic behaviour and he was frightened of losing his friend to the same.

Aneisha slipped her arm around Tom's shoulder and held him tight. "Come on. They're going to help him. Let's go and wait. Some time later they watched Dan being wheeled back, still asleep. His wrists each had a large bandage round them which had been tied to the bed rails on either side of his bed. They looked at one another with frozen expressions. Clearly the staff weren't taking any more chances.

People went in and out of Dan's room, but still they weren't allowed in to see him. They were getting restless and more and more worried when finally a doctor in a white coat came out and greeted them. He was holding a clip board covered in sheets of paper.

"You are friends of Daniel Morgan ?" he asked. They said they were, sitting forward in their chairs.

"Is he going to be all right ?" asked Tom anxiously.

"Well, he is certainly improved from earlier," said the doctor. "I'm the clinical psychiatrist," he explained, glancing at his notes. "Since Daniel had his MRI scan his mental state has changed significantly. It is remarkable. There are only a few things of possible concern," he said vaguely.

"What things ?" asked Tom.

"Well, he does seem to be unusually untrusting and cynical," said the psychiatrist. He looked startled as they all burst out laughing.

"He's always like that," said Aneisha.

"Oh !" said the psychiatrist with a small smile, "Well in that case, he appears to be fully recovered," he said. "That is apart from the minor concussion and the bruising on the throat," he added. "It appears there may be some therapy after all for Dr. Storm. I will be speaking to my colleagues at the psychiatric unit."

"Can we see him now ?" asked Zoe.

"Yes of course," said the psychiatrist.

They went into Dan's room full of hope. Dan was lying in his bed looking slightly cross. He perked up when he saw his friends. "What happened ?" he asked croakily, then coughed. "Nobody will tell me," he complained. "This doctor was asking me the weirdest questions. Do I think people are trying to hurt me ? Well, apart from KORPS, duh ! And, someone's tied me to the bed !" he said, tugging his wrists against the bandages tying him, and coughing again. Frank slipped out of the room unnoticed.

"Would you like a drink ?" asked Zoe. Dan nodded. She poured him some water and had to hold the cup to his mouth for him. He drank it thirstily.

"Thanks," he said when he'd finished.

Frank came back in with a nurse carrying a pair of surgical scissors. "I don't think we need these any more do we ?" she said smiling at Dan. She carefully cut through the bandages on this wrists, letting him free. Zoe immediately took one hand in hers.

When the nurse had gone, Dan looked a lot calmer. He lay back against his pillows tiredly. "Do you want us to go ?" asked Frank quietly.

"No. Please, I want to know what happened," begged Dan softly.

Tom took a deep breath. "Well, I don't know how much you remember," he said. "Storm set up a hurricane in the corridor so we couldn't get in the door to the control room. We tried to blow a hole in the side of the control room to get to you, but all it did was knock you unconscious on the floor, and Mr. Storm then set off weather fields through the whole house. There was no way we could get to you, so I called Nate and asked to borrow Digby," he explained. Dan looked baffled. "Digby is Nate's big humanoid robot. He could get through the weather fields unaffected and he was strong enough to get through the weather and the control room door," said Tom, grinning at the memory of Digby pulling the door off its hinges.

"When Digby broke in, Mr. Storm went bonkers and opened the safety door on to the courtyard and ran out into the weather fields and some of the fields swirled into the room and all around you," he said, pausing.

"Me ? Oooooh," said Dan. "Did it do anything to me ?" he asked, looking worried.

"Well, when you woke up, you apparently tried to attack the staff here," said Tom as gently as he could. "Then they had to sedate you and take you for an MRI scan. Amazingly, it looks like the MRI scanner itself has made you better. Perhaps those weather fields interfere with the brain's natural magnetic structure or something. The MRI seems to have put it back in order again."

Dan, looked at him. "I have no idea what you are talking about," he said.

"You're normal again," said Aneisha. "Well, normal for you anyway," she added cheekily.

Dan frowned at her, but then looked relieved. "Good, I think," he said. Then he seemed to remember something and leaned forward. "The tornado ! There was a tornado ! Is everyone OK ?" he asked.

Zoe gently pushed him back into his pillows. "Everyone is fine. Nobody got hurt by the tornado. Don't worry," she assured him. Staring into her eyes, Dan relaxed again and lay back. He touched his forehead with his free hand, wincing when he felt the wound which had been steri-stripped.

"You need to get some rest now," said Frank firmly. "We should go," he ordered. They all said their goodbyes and left quietly.

Once outside, Tom breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. Dan's back," he said.

"Yeah," said Aneisha. "He's just so accident prone !" she complained.

They all laughed with relief. Life was getting back to normal. "What's the weather ?" Tom asked as they left the MI9 medical unit.

"A bit of drizzle. Just ordinary," said Frank.

"Yay !" cheered the team.

"Ordinary is good !" said Aneisha.

**THE END**

A guest reviewer asked why it's always Dan who ends up in hospital in my stories. I can't really answer this. I supposed it's because he's the most obviously physical, apart from Zoe, and his overall lack of tact probably gets him into trouble. I don't have any plans currently for another story. I want it to be different.


End file.
